In the Shadow of the Headless Muse

She lost her head,
didn’t she? Amid the clover

and the bumblebees.
Arms gone too.

Nearby thistle has all gone to seed.
Spidery cotton puffs float in the breeze,

cling to me, tickle near my ears,
across my mouth, fickle as a whisper.

The gold finch flashes yellow in the weeds
and chirps a mad army. The air is nectar sweet.

On the other side, her sister stands watch
with a placid look, and a headless dog.

 
—Rachel Sahaidachny (Marion County)

Rachel Sahaidachny received her MFA from Butler University. She lives in Indianapolis, IN and serves as Programs Manager for the Indiana Writers Center. She is co-editor of Not Like the Rest of Us: An Anthology of Contemporary Indiana Writers, and former poetry editor of Booth: A Journal. Her writing is published or forthcoming in Southeast Review, Radar Poetry, Community of Writers Poetry Review, Red Paint Hill, Nuvo and others.

Poetry Prompt: Art, Nature & You
Find some interesting outdoor art—maybe a statue, mural or a wall with graffiti. How do you, the art and nature relate to each other within the scope of your visit? Write the rough draft of your poem on location—plein air—and let your pen be guided by what you observe and think and by the music of language. You might write quickly for a couple of pages and later find a short, imagistic poem within that freewriting.

Indiana Humanities is celebrating National Poetry Month by sharing a poem and prompt every day in April. Indiana Poet Laureate Shari Wagner selected these poems and wrote the prompts.