Flower Explorations 9 by Valentina Luna

Rachel Nix | Alabama Heat

Lady with legs long as pines and sungrown freckles—
let me look at you, walk with you in the woods to find

streams of water for your feet to tease. Allow my gander.
I know better than to touch what I do not know to be real.

I want to study you under the sun, witness the way humidity
provides proof of your presence: the sweat of a woman,

not a figment of solitude. Would you meet me in the field
by the highway, deep in the yellow weeds? We could wallow

in their flowering, hide there until mosquitoes find our skin.
I cannot blame them for wanting to drink you in—know this:

I could be more gentle, never take more than I would give.
I need only to know if I have dreamed this or has Alabama heat

fooled me, lent me beautiful images I wish could be touched?
Imagine: a woman made of summer and wandering mind.

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Rachel Nix is an editor for Screen Door Review. Her own work has appeared in such journals as Pidgeonholes, Sundog Lit, and The West Review, among others. She resides in Northwest Alabama, where pine trees outnumber people rather nicely, and can be followed at @rachelnix_poet on Twitter.

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Born in 1995 and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, Valentina Luna moved to Mexico City to study at Universidad Iberoamericana where she obtained a BBA in Business Administration in 2017. In CDMX Valentina studied art intermittently, until moving to New York City in 2023 to continue her studies at The Art Students League of New York, Parsons School of Design, and New York School of the Arts.
Valentina's diverse background has allowed her to gain experience in various disciplines, and enrich her multi-cultural heritage and unique perspective, continuing her journey into the play of light and color, capturing the essence of the world that envelops us, while remaining firmly grounded in the realms of pleasure and aesthetics. Valentinas' work draws profound inspiration from the dynamic culture and lush landscapes of her homeland, Colombia.