Love Notes from the Firefly Spanish/English Visual Dictionary - Karen Rigby

When you find me in the courtyard

of a Roman home, bring seven legumes,

a turbine, the cross-section

of a stone fruit, and a white fennec.

Strike the soundboard and the dance

is an olive grove pitted with light.

Cross the hangar and the index

for zeppelin parts could diagram

pork cuts: patchwork viewed

from 35,000 feet up. In the chapter

on chemistry, we siphon potions

in milligrams. On p. 537, the bait-

casting reel resembles a music-box.

Names for the kingdom, monorails,

arthropods—the ocean spits buccino 

for good luck. We kiss in thickets 

of serifs. Have I mentioned that I love 

your eye, and its anterior chamber?

At moonrise, tikis light generals

on plinths. We brace for cartoon

weather toasting guava juice coolers.

Tugboats dock in housewares.

We aim for greener cordilleras, 

the republic gunning our backs.

From the author’s Chinoiserie (Ahsahta Press, 2012)

Born in the Republic of Panama, Karen Rigby is the author of Chinoiserie (Ahsahta Press, 2012) and Fabulosa (JackLeg Press, 2024). She lives in Arizona. www.karenrigby.com