unbound curiosity, up & down, left & right, all around
play, of the essence, at the heart of any possibility:
chords, silent or repeated, more colorful than meaning
pots prompt seeds to synchronize release, open counterpoint —
look at the birds, a winged blanket from wire to branch:
to this side, decide, not our side, decide, on their side —
untangled, unblemished & unburnt in a unique urban urn
a Catalonian cat catches catastrophic catalysis
& extends ecstasy for Meister Eckhart’s eggs in eerie exile
since a mongoose monologues a Mongolian moonlight rhythm
fresh sound textures — strokes strung unparalleled by text —
melodic, beats flow through & between questions & longing
under, above, behind, beyond & within, but not against —
cadenzas flying off the bow & strings — circle, anew
Hernández Peña, a reader of poetry for this year’s fiction issue, wrote this poem in reaction to “Boris Kerner,” a composition by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw performed at Princeton University’s Taplin Auditorium. Born in Mexico City, he is the author of “Moonmilk and Other Poems” (Ragged Sky Press, 2006). He has also served as a co-editor of the US1 Worksheets magazine. His work has appeared in Drunken Boat, Hayden’s Ferry Review as well as US1 Worksheets and other journals. He works for the Segal Company, employee benefit consultants and actuaries in Lawrenceville.
