ORPHEUS
UNDERGROUND
by Odette Cortés
from the “Ordinary Conjurings” poetry collection
Today, like every day,
I wait among others for the ferryman.
Here, in the underground,
I tune my senses to signs of his coming—
The whistling of the air
The screeching of the tires
The current of electricity
Coursing down our collective bodies
The endless negotiation:
Push shove
Push shove.
Here, in the darkness,
Time turns to murky water,
An endless river more than six feet under
Where humanity strips away
As we enter the city’s underbelly.
Here, I turn to Orpheus
And cast the oldest of salvations
Notes strung together
Tether my soul
To the light of ten million fireflies
That takes a shortcut into my dreams.
Old memories that run wild
To fleeting sound, lyrics and beats
Push shove
Push shove.
Hold on to the unbreakable thread
The tune of the living provides
For this eternal midnight
Will not last forever.
Push shove
Push shove.
I don’t turn back
Though I’m hanging for dear life
To this song. I don’t turn back
I don’t turn to dust.
I see the light at the end
Of the underground
Push shove
Push shove.
More poetry of Odette Cortés will be available in the upcoming Iridescence anthology. Pre-order today.
Odette lives in Mexico city as a college instructor and PhD candidate. She studied English Literature at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Odette was one of the finalists in the African Diaspora and Iridescence Awards. She has been since recruited as the poetry editor for Kinsman Quarterly.