Flower Explorations 7 by Valentina Luna
Sierra Faust | Two poems
Walking with a Friend
I’ve been a child half my life
And still, like a child, I ask
You to run with me through
pines or through grass or
the blue and yellow of the fields
over Saskatchewan or
West Virginia or Kansas.
I find that your face occurs
to me in a private moment
and it occurs again. We are walking
Through a quarry and I find
a little wasp nest and you put it
in your pocket for me and later
I keep it because it was in your pocket
and because the ocean makes no sound
When you’re near and because
I’ve had enough of you in this
moment to last me some
time. I am afraid of so many
Things. I am here, In front of you,
asking you to go with me, to please
Hold my hand until I feel ready.
And still, like a child, I ask
You to run with me through
pines or through grass or
the blue and yellow of the fields
over Saskatchewan or
West Virginia or Kansas.
I find that your face occurs
to me in a private moment
and it occurs again. We are walking
Through a quarry and I find
a little wasp nest and you put it
in your pocket for me and later
I keep it because it was in your pocket
and because the ocean makes no sound
When you’re near and because
I’ve had enough of you in this
moment to last me some
time. I am afraid of so many
Things. I am here, In front of you,
asking you to go with me, to please
Hold my hand until I feel ready.
Ciudad Delgado
The only way along a line is to hang at the end
of it. Where both the cop and the robber lay
waiting for you there, looking ridiculous.
The sharp sun hoisted over jagged outcropping
and you — the black beach — close to me now.
Come with me to explore this unknown weather
this uncharted register as airplanes overhead
cross borders unfettered; as good a tunnel
in the air as underground.
A piquin grows in the open part of an
open air house with cocks in it and we
make them fight each other until one is dead
like a knight both weapons drawn
where the knight said there are many like it
but this one Is mine — the novelty is wearing off.
Each one like a glove, useless without its counterpart.
Listen to me now officer, you won’t get me
in your scraggly claws. I’m standing on a beach
in California looking at the pacific ocean.
I’m on a beach in La Libertad looking at the same
ocean and I can hear the special music
it makes me in this alien and opposite world.
A world which will indeed keep working despite
you with your glass at the right hand side.
Today is today and not another one.
And they said yes if they tell me to go I won’t
but rather I’ll hide down deep in this far flung
city like blue crabs under stone in the dark river.
of it. Where both the cop and the robber lay
waiting for you there, looking ridiculous.
The sharp sun hoisted over jagged outcropping
and you — the black beach — close to me now.
Come with me to explore this unknown weather
this uncharted register as airplanes overhead
cross borders unfettered; as good a tunnel
in the air as underground.
A piquin grows in the open part of an
open air house with cocks in it and we
make them fight each other until one is dead
like a knight both weapons drawn
where the knight said there are many like it
but this one Is mine — the novelty is wearing off.
Each one like a glove, useless without its counterpart.
Listen to me now officer, you won’t get me
in your scraggly claws. I’m standing on a beach
in California looking at the pacific ocean.
I’m on a beach in La Libertad looking at the same
ocean and I can hear the special music
it makes me in this alien and opposite world.
A world which will indeed keep working despite
you with your glass at the right hand side.
Today is today and not another one.
And they said yes if they tell me to go I won’t
but rather I’ll hide down deep in this far flung
city like blue crabs under stone in the dark river.
Sierra Faust is a Kansas City based artist and writer. She received her bachelor’s degree in Sculpture from the Kansas City Art Institute in 2018. Sierra works in Nonprofit Program Administration at Literacy KC and is currently an Artist in Residence at Pendleton Arts Block.
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.
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.
