Deep Inside the Sun

My Hometown Poem #116

I do not believe in angels,
but I do believe in clouds.
I do not believe in heaven,
but I do believe in the sun.
You appeared there, suddenly, 
in the rays streaming down 
on the bay at the end of day,
your brilliant, sparkling beams
penetrating the sea, golden 
arms reaching from the nimbus,
ivory aura glowing so clearly
against the shadowed backdrop
of the mountains, dancing 
on the surface of the water, 
a dervish whirling wildly, 
your presence so vivid, 
your voice as plain as day 
in the din of the dining room, 
over the hum of conversation, 
crystal clinking, silver clanking,
as if you were sending up
a flare, pointing, “Over here!” 
I was overcome, all at once faint, 
short of breath. But I rose, 
alone, trembling, and walked 
to the bar, steadied myself 
against a stone column 
on the corner of the balcony,
and stood, looking at you, 
radiant light, still here, 
still shimmering in the sky, 
still blazing against the bay,
still shining, luminous,
deep inside the sun.

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Ray Young Bear: From Red Earth Drive, Meskwaki Settlement

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Tory Brecht: Brecht’s Beat, Quad Cities

Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll

Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines

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Suzanna de Baca: Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley

Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County

Arnold Garson: Second Thoughts, Okoboji and Sioux Falls

Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji

Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames

Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines

Rob Gray: Rob Gray’s Area, Ankeny

Nik Heftman: The Seven Times, Los Angeles and Iowa

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Chris Jones, Chris’s Substack, Des Moines

Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo

Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames

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Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa

Alison McGaughey, The Inquisitive Quad Citizen, Quad Cities

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Kyle Munson: Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines

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Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines

Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.

Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Des Moines

Macey Shofroth: The Midwest Creative, Norwalk

Larry Stone: Listening to the Land, Elkader

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona

Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County

Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport

Kali White VanBaale, 988: Mental Healthcare in Iowa, Bondurant

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