Flight To Albuquerque

I left you in the rain. Below me, wing
of plane, baked plain of Texas, snake
of river. My armrest is taken
by someone I do not know. I miss

our ballet toe dance of elbows
when flying. They balance, lift
into a knotted tree of fingers. When
they announce landing, I bury you

deeper. What marks me? What makes
a kiss stay? The lies distance creates.
These words come slowly, seep
into hair like melting snow.

Terri Muuss reads “Flight To Albuquerque”

From Cagibi Issue 1: Four Poems by Terri Muuss

Terri Muuss is a multi-career tour de force who balances a full-time social work gig with directing shows, writing books, speaking at conferences and colleges, running a private practice, performing her one-woman show, teaching writing workshops and curating a popular poetry series with her husband, author Matt Pasca. Her poetry has appeared in dozens of publications and anthologies, including Atticus Review, Paterson Literary Review, Stirring, University of Indiana Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, Luna Luna Magazine and Veils, Halos & Shackles: International Poetry on the Oppression and Empowerment of Women, and her first book, Over Exposed (2013), was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. In 2015, Terri began curating Second Saturdays @Cyrus and, in 2016, co-edited an anthology of New York women poets entitled Grabbing the Apple. After years spent working the stages of New York City, Vermont and Dublin, Terri has also performed her one-woman show, Anatomy of a Doll—named “Best Theatre: Critics’ Pick of the Week” by the New York Post—around the United States and Canada since 1998, and directed countless Off-Off-Broadway productions. As a motivational speaker, artist and social worker, Muuss keynotes and runs workshops at conferences, colleges and high schools across the nation. Her second book, God’s Spine, is forthcoming. www.terrimuuss.com