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Amanda Leal
LANTERNS
On the roof of the Venezia Hotel, the moon burns
like a blue siren through the scalloped
clouds that drag over the Miami skyline.
Violet streetlights explode in the pinwheel
palm fronds that fringe the intercoastal,
as we sip English milk punch on the deck,
watching the underbellies of the airplanes,
our exchanges unrushed as the figures
in the windows of the high-rise towers,
the glowing palaces across the waterway.
It smolders on my tongue like the moon
in it’s veil: we have everything
we ever wanted, the rum glasses like lanterns
in our hands, floating with our conversation,
the darkened structures shaping the rooftop
where other couples sit without speaking.
We are the only ones who approach the deck
to watch the cars glide easily
around one another, down Ocean Drive,
effortless as an ant-farm, our laughter
tossed like flowers to the street,
the pools of light blooming in the coast.
About the writer:
Amanda Leal is a 30-year-old poet from Lake Worth, Florida. Her work has been featured or is forthcoming in issues of CAROUSEL, Tampa Review, White Wall Review, and many others.
Image: Cityscape by Brian Whelan (contemporary). Mixed media on board. 36 x 48 inches. 2009. By free license.
OJAL Art Incorporated, publishing since 2017 as OPEN: Journal of Arts & Letters (O:JA&L) and its imprints Buttonhook Press and HOT BUTTON PRESS Contemporary Issues, supports writers and artists worldwide.
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