Katia Arco
Stepping into Heaven
Marigolds sway where terrain has gone. A train
bullets through views of watercolor strokes. Grandpapa travels
figuring the lot unaware the cuckoo has stopped the call.
Oxygen saturation plummets, a gasp pulls him
to the One I think is not the one, only space
where there once was a thought.
Doubt stains the reflection of his glasses, sharp
as the day I saw him first: Basque beret,
newspaper in hand - waiting for the next stop.
But the train has not ceased its slur.
Beyond the windows, spectral hues speed
into the whiteness of a blank canvas.
That's where it begins, at the sudden stop:
all belongings stay aboard, watch your step
required is a set of aquarelle.
Bio
Currently, I teach College Writing and Experiences in Literature at William Paterson University. I hold a BS in Molecular Biology and an MFA in Creative and Professional Writing. I have presented in a few conferences on the topics of empathy and writer agency. Some of my work include a set of children stories (in Spanish) published by the Instituto de Nutrición de Centro America y Panamá (INCAP), in Guatemala City, for the purpose of incorporating healthy nutrition and physical activity into an elementary school curriculum within impoverished areas. More recently, my travel writing article "Following the Heron's Flight" was featured in the 2020 March E-news from Laurelwood Arboretum in Wayne, New Jersey. My short story, "The Blue Boots" won an award and is forthcoming in the Watchung Review, NJCEA (Spring 2023). As I said above, I enjoy reading and writing fairy tales, magic realist poetry and stories.