Modern Scribes by Margarita Engle in Farewell Issue, Journal of Mythic Arts, 2008 — Endicott Studio

Modern Scribes

by Margarita Engle

We float through life

in a half–dream

of wild beasts and serenity


each thought

a winged mermaid

with feathers too heavy

for flight.


Our yellow towns

of sun–hardened straw

are too brittle

for habitation


so we dwell in the margins

of pages

sacred spaces

unwritten and patient.










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.



Farewell Issue   |   JoMA Poetry Archives