Prayer to the High Priestess of Pain
for Frida Kahlo
o, holy mestiza
……………mirror
……………mirage!
how many are drawn
to the bedded isle
to see her lace-lined face?
pilgrims’ sighs infuse the house
reverence is a honied song
around this bright retablo
tin hands beckon from the altar
once the offering is laid
now kneel amid the marigolds
and light a yellow candle
cradled in her flaming gaze,
speak the thing you seek
i wish to make peace with pain
drape it in bright colours
and dance with its crooked form
around the portrait roots climb
caress like a lover’s rough fingers
from the cracked earth
a mystic answer echoes
some are born under a star
but others explode from earthquakes
bleeding glitter
.
Jennifer Brough is usually writing, editing or reading. Outside of these wordy pursuits, she is learning Spanish and dreaming of Mexico. Her work has most recently appeared in Re-side, RIC Journal, Burning House Press and is forthcoming in Barren Magazine. She can be found @Jennifer_Brough and on jenniferlbrough.com.
