Black Petals Issue #109 Autumn, 2024

Sandy DeLuca: In My Pyramid Texts

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Cackling Rose: Flash Fiction by Hillary Lyon
He Said He Was Drunk When He Dropped the Candle...Poem by Juleigh Howard-Hobson
Once it Begins: Poem by Juleigh Howard-Hobson
Unexpected Request at the Psychic Faire: Poem by Juleigh Howard-Hobson
The Wolf Man and the Sex Trafficker: Poem by LindaAnn LoSchiavo
NONET Transformed: Poem by LindaAnn LoSchiavo
Wolf Girl Relishes the Wolf Moonrise: Poem by LindaAnn LoSchiavo
Attack of the Twarnock: Poem by Daniel Snethen
Reign of the Dragon: Poem by Daniel Snethen
And Renfield Eats: Poem by Daniel Snethen
Babylon: Poem by Craig Kirchner
Surfing Senators: Poem by Craig Kirchner
Sizar of Xanadu: Poem by Craig Kirchner
In Loving Memory of Our Aunt, Lisa Pizzaro: Poem by Craig Kirchner
Madeline: Poem by Simon MacCulloch
Cobwebbery: Poem by Simon MacCulloch
The Melted Man: Poem by Simon MacCulloch
Blood Tub: Poem by Simon MacCulloch
Jack the Necromancer: Poem by Simon MacCulloch
Dead Man's Body: Poem by Simon MacCulloch
As On Our Sinner's Path We Go: Poem by Vincent Vurchio
Beware the Glory: Poem by Grant Woodside
Scattered Journey: Poem by Grant Woodside
summer gold is only sand: Poem by Grant Woodside
you can't teach the wrong loyalty new tricks: Poem by Renee Kiser
House of Dark Spells: Poem by Sandy DeLuca
In My Pyramid Texts: Poem by Sandy DeLuca
Monsters Then and Now: Poem by Sandy DeLuca
Lord of the Flies: Poem by David Barber
Revenge Notification: Sophia Wiseman-Rose
When Hope Has Gone: Poem by Michael Pendragon
Witches' Moon: Poem by Michael Pendragon

In My Pyramid Texts

 

         Sandy DeLuca

 

 

Osiris holds me

as we cross the sand of Philae…

cooler as night deepens…

the wind picks up,

carries linen strips and

a turquoise earring into the dark.

 

Who wore it…

where did she go?

 

Bones rattle and the god whispers,

          "Hold me."

          I gaze at his legs,

          Mummy-wrapped…

          by Isis.

 

          I grasp his waist, and

he holds me tighter, too.

Doesn’t speak as night gives way

to dawn.

 

          Temple silhouetted against rocks…

          secrets sealed with

          litanies to Ra.

 

Beyond the water,

pyramids crumble…

and a girl greets us,

white sheath clings

to bony form,

          a knife wound in her chest…

          bloody earring in her hand…

          a dozen others rise from

          limestone and granite.

 

          Osiris nods,

and I let go…

          take a step back,

as the dead greet the Nile.

 

          I’ll wait until dawn,

          then walk the desert again…

 

          in search of prayers and gods.




©Sandy DeLuca 2024

Sandy DeLuca has written novels, several poetry and fiction collections and a few novellas. These include critically acclaimed works such as DESCENT and MESSAGES FROM THE DEAD.  Over the past three years, she also co-authored three novels with Greg F. Gifune.

 

            She was a finalist for the BRAM STOKER © for poetry award in 2001, with BURIAL PLOT IN SAGITTARIUS; accompanied by her cover art and interior illustrations. A copy is maintained in the Harris Collection of American Poetry and Plays Poetry at Brown University, 1976-2000. She was also nominated once more in 2014, with Marge Simon, for DANGEROUS DREAMS.

 

          Her visual art has also been published in books and magazines. It has been exhibited throughout New England and in New York’s Hudson Valley.

         

          She lives in Rhode Island with several feline companions, including a black cat named Gypsy and her two sons, Gemini and Leo. Another black cat, named Mojo, joined the household in 2023. He was born in her great grandfather’s house, a structure that was once a stagecoach stop. It’s the inspiration for recent short stories; and a novel in progress.

 

          In addition to her fiction, she is working on new poetry and a series of large-scale expressionistic paintings. She spends some of her free time volunteering at a local food pantry and a parrot sanctuary. Other interests include photographing abandoned buildings and perusing secondhand shops.

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