CRETE, 1993
by Mark Fleckenstein
Zeus, in the form of a bull with a saffron crocus, seduced
Europa. Not gently, not without tenderness, even joy.
His whiteness. Beautifully hideous.
Her love, unmistakable,
unremarkable like white marble.
At night, veined shards rise
like stars, mistaking voices for flowers.
About the Author
Five states, a B.A. in English and MFA in Writing later, Mark Fleckenstein settled in Massachusetts. Twice nominated for a Pushcart Prize, he’s published four books of poetry: Making Up The World (Editions Dedicaces, 2018), God Box (Clare Songbird Publishing, 2019), A Name for Everything (Cervena Barva Press, 2020), and Lowercase God (forthcoming, Unsolicited Press, 2022), and five chapbooks: The Memory of Stars, (Sticks Press, 1995), I Was I, Drowning Knee Deep, (Sticks Press, 2007), Memoir as Conversation (Unsolicited Press, 2019), A Library of Things (Origami Poetry Project, 2020), and Small Poems (Origami Poetry Project, 2021).