The Flesh of the Night

Music: Anthony Josep
Words: Maggie Wilkinson
String Arrangement: Javmar Perez-Contreras
Kaylan Hernandez, solo
Anthony Josep, piano
Sophia Molina, violin
Jiddu Vega, violin
Brandon Wu, viola
Ariana Charran, cello
The Flesh of the Night
Maggie Wilkinson
The winter sky was a pomegranate
You ripped into the flesh of the night
with your hands bared, piercing seeds
of burgundy from the palms of the sky.
Your thumb found rest on my lower lip,
which in some ways created a vastness
of it’s own, our own galaxy for someone
else to turn malleable. You turned each of
the constellations into names: Gemini, Lyra, Orion. I listened. I collect memories
of you to keep when you are not close
enough to touch. My fridge is filled with
burgundy seeds, and I do not close my
windows at night. The breeze is cool. When the moon is full, it could almost be daytime. I curl beneath the sun-tongue of the moon
and name the constellations. Orion, the one with a belt of three stars all lined up, waiting for a miracle. Lyra, the box of secrets. Gemini the twins, palms clasped together.
I listened. I keep you with me, always.