The Secret by Sandra Anfang

She cornered me on a flight to Fort Lauderdale. The beautiful aerialist had language on her side. I heard the impossible tale of her lover, the firefighter, how he survived the explosion. How The Secret brought it all to pass. I try for listening, neutrality, force my mind wide like a stubborn green coconut. I struggle to keep my mental crocodiles in the moat. Oh, hell, we all have stories. Truth being relative in another’s ears, no less our own. Today my head’s a minefield of pain, sinuses pinging like dying Christmas bulbs. I can’t sleep for sneezing. I cancel the coming week and fall into a dream. I catch a glimpse of the double agent of my heart peddling secrets on the corner of Mission and 16th.

Sandra Anfang is a poet and visual artist. Her poems have appeared in such journals as Poetalk, Tower Journal, Rattle, Unbroken, and Spillway. Her chapbook, Looking Glass Heart, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2016. A second chapbook, Road Worrier, is in process from the same publisher.