POETRY
Libera Me, Salva Me
libera me, Domine, de morte aeterna in die illa tremenda
There is a time for running up the fire escape
with scorched lungs, teardrops on fire,
wordless in the calamity of yourself,
unable to call for help in your wrong-way escape,
a time for graffiti on your skin, platform boots
to make you seem taller, piercing yourself for decoration,
stomping to the music, writing your grievance lists,
believing in something owed, something deserved.
~
Then there is a time to be delivered, liberated
from yourself, for understanding you are not the only one,
you are nothing really, your complaints are the wind,
your power nonexistent, you don’t know anyone else’s truth,
you are the spokesperson of nothing, just a smudge of existence
until the time to move heaven and earth to unveil your eyes,
light the dark, deliver a flame of liberation in
yourhuman being.
Diane Vogel Ferri is a teacher, poet, and writer living in Solon, Ohio. Her essays have been published in Scene Magazine, Cleveland Stories, Cleveland Christmas Memories, Raven’s Perch, and by Cleveland State University among others. Her poems can be found in numerous journals such as Plainsongs, Rubbertop Review, and Poet Lore. Her chapbook, Liquid Rubies, was published by Pudding House. The Volume of Our Incongruity was published by Finishing Line Press. She has done many poetry readings locally. Her novel, The Desire Path can be found on amazon.com. Diane’s essay, “I Will Sing for You” was featured at the Cleveland Humanities Festival in 2018. A former teacher, she holds an M.Ed from Cleveland State University. She has an Author Page on Facebook for current news and is a founding member of Literary Cleveland.
Photo by Julio Motta on Pexels.com
Heart of Flesh Literary Journal 