Angel Migration
Barbara Daniels
Arctic angels fly together
toward the Antarctic. Some
get tangled in wires and ice.
Cherubim trek along mountain ridges,
rivers, coastlines. Human migrants
follow corridors: Libya-Europe,
Mexico-US, Afghanistan-Iran.
In jungles, human feet darken to purple
or bronze. (Travelers, traffickers.)
Nocturnal angels follow the stars.
If you look up, you’ll see them flapping
and calling. Over arched windows,
stone angels fill spandrels
with outstretched wings. You watch
painted angels twining through plaster
and archangels flying in leap-frog
formations past occupied sites
to empty beaches. Attendant spirits
migrate by sea. Killer whales
follow their luminous trails. (Even
strong swimmers can drown.)
Directly above you five hundred seraphs
stare downward, each face different,
each supported by six stiff wings.
Barbara Daniels’ Talk to the Lioness was published by Casa de Cinco Hermanas Press. Her poetry has appeared in Qwerty, Image Journal, and Rogue Agent and elsewhere. She has received four fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.