The Heft of Wonder

Rikki Santer

How the blind boy in
the gallery tastes arm-

in-arm every painting
through her words.

Elementary school angels
with flat halos and cardboard

wings. Nicotine’s momentary
pardon from crisis. The hopeful

pageantry of a going-out-of-business
sale. America’s Got Talent, that lamb

of a girl who jettisons into a rock
& roll lion her boot tassels chiming.

How amber can time-travel
a prehistoric frog. The typeface

and font size of a snake’s rattle.
A congregation of air bubbles

to corral krill for a hungry
team of humpback whales.

How flutterings italicize the fledgling
on a steady branch. The throat

of a vagina that pines for love
and punchlines that can be trusted

like the measured weight
of a mother grizzly’s paw.

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Rikki Santer’s poetry has appeared in numerous publications including Ms. Magazine, Poetry East, Margie, The Journal of American Poetry, Hotel Amerika, Crab Orchard Review, Grimm, Slipstream, and The Main Street Rag. Her work was received many honors including four Pushcart and three Ohioana book award nominations as well as a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her seventh collection, In Pearl Broth, was published this spring by Stubborn Mule Press. www.rikkisanter.com