BROADCASTING THE SEARCH FOR THE MISSING

By Shakira Croce

 

“If all we have is to sell            time and brains                    we can’t put any money on
him
we’ll have no return”

He ends the call                       at Terminal 1                        hovering above the runway
                                                far from tire swings             circled by pines and
                                                honeysuckle
Back to the news                     Live                                      from the Blue Hole
in a dangerous attempt            a 31-year-old                       believed to be

unable to undo
the straps                                wrapped around himself

says the report             from the elevated screen      above waiting passengers


Delays as usual                        and people                           flooding the gates


He loosens his tie                    watching the runway
                                               far from deep strokes   of the Last Judgment


Boarding                                 the final departure
another urgent ring                vibrates his pocket                unanswered



Without a witness                  He was last seen here           There has been no body
found



In the diagonal jet                   teeth grind                           eyes squint shut and settle


And sometime                        during the flight                    amid the clouds

without reception
                                              he drifts
                                                                                           back to ground



considering





The Skydiver

                                              looking up now

                                                                                            together with hardened sand

                                              at beams of light streaming

                                                                                            from 600 feet down

 

Shakira Croce is a freelance writer in Queens, New York. A Georgia native, after studying writing at Sarah Lawrence College with Vijay Seshadri and completing a Masters at Pace University, she currently works as Communications Manager for a non-profit healthcare organization, Amida Care. She has previously worked for "Vista" Magazine in Italy and served twice as a juror for the Zerilli-Marimo City of Rome Prize for Italian Fiction. Croce’s poetry translations have appeared in Babel magazine, and recently her poetry has been featured in the New Ohio Review, PoetsArtists, MiPOesias, Tansactions, Ducts.org, and the Red River Review. She was a featured reader in the Boundless Tales Reading Series, and she was a finalist in the Linda Flowers Literary Award competition. 

© 2016