Malaika King Albrecht
THESE ARE MY TRANSGRESSIONS
I’ve eaten brunch with a lesser saint
wearing a horse shoe halo
and plucked the elderflower from his hand.
I’ve worn a shadow to a wedding
and sunlight to a wake. I’ve forgotten
that every blink’s a funeral
and suffered the momentary loss of light
and the sight of you.
Born of salt, slanted light and wind
mixing stars into the lake,
I still see my face in water fountains.
I’m a clanging bell, the lost left shoe,
the dirt road through the middle of the woods
leading home. I’ve transfigured
a necklace of red flowers into bees.
Bio: Malaika King Albrecht is a frequent contributor to Wild Goose Poetry Review and Founding Editor of Redheaded Stepchild. Her third collection of poetry, “What the Trapeze Artist Trusts”, was published by Press 53 earlier this year.
Wild Goose Poetry Review 
I enjoyed this one very much.
I very much like “I’ve worn a shadow to a wedding/and sunlight to a wake.” Gorgeous!
Thank you — this has captured my imagination and given me wings.
Lovely Malaika. It’s obvious, your loss of light is always momentary. Jon
There is so much imagery in this poem that stuns. I am a fan of your work, and keep What the Trapeze Artist Trusts currently at the bedside for inspiration. Thank you!
Somehow this makes me think of Sexton’s “Her Kind”, Ophelia’s wildflower speech, and Dannye Romine-Powell’s “A Necklace of Bees” all at once, all of which deal, as this does, with the power of the feminine that comes with the experience of loss. So much going on here.
Gorgeous list of sins. Perfect title.