A poem is engraved
on the blade of the knife
a man uses for peeling fruit
out in the fields, at slow noon.
The rhythmic whisk
that stirs twirling eggs
is an instrument
of percussion
in the hand of a woman
who daydreams love's tale
lost and found.
A massive bell emerges
from the foundry
giving birth to its own
secret music
molten tunnels
deep earth.
About the Author: Margarita Engle is the Cuban–American author of books about the island, most recently The Surrender Tree, Poems of Cuba's Struggle for Freedom (Henry Holt & Co., 2008). The Poet Slave of Cuba (Henry Holt & Co., 2006) received many honors, including the American Library Association's Pura Belpre Medal, an International Reading Association Award, and the Americas Award, presented at the Library of Congress.
Copyright © 2008 by Margarita Engle. The poem may not be reproduced in any form without the author's express written permission