If I Knew Latin
I’d understand love and
hell, the syntax of stars,
the way Venus gets lost
in the light when it seems
to move toward the sun.
I’d write Latin songs
for insects dead in the fields.
I’d know what rats dream
(Rattus norvegicus) asleep
in their mazes. Fear must
taint their disordered nights.
I’d understand the violent lives
of saints, my name saint killed
by her father, lightning
converting him into ash.
I would know if paintings
of Christ portray the moment
of death or just after. His mouth
falls open, the right hand
twists backwards, one foot
is wet with his blood.
Barbara Daniels’ Talk to the Lioness was published by Casa de Cinco Hermanas. Her other books and chapbooks include Rose Fever, Moon Kitchen, Black Sails, and Quinn & Marie. Her poetry has appeared in Main Street Rag, Free State Review, Ghost City, Permafrost, Philadelphia Stories, and elsewhere. She received four fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
Amethyst Review 