I go ambient in the fabric of the black,
a velvet dark embracing my body.
The projector flickers brief color across
the soft of it like a sky just before dusk.
Scenes of a lifetime start to montage by,
rendered so romantic, and I gravitate
toward it: a spark between women,
a shadow with no silhouette orbiting
around the serenade of another language,
a space as wide as the gaps between stars
closed by the distance it takes the glow
to reach the earth. Divining through
the clear glass of cinematography,
I feel a prophecy surge through me.
The film reel ticker tapes a first kiss
as if it were a ribbon of aurora borealis.
You will have this love someday. You will.
My tears flood with visions of the future.
At the end of the screening, I am greeted by
bright parking lot pavement, late afternoon
slicing my mind open with a shaft of light.
I cry the whole way home, forever the seer.
Bethany Rose Datuin is a Filipina American poet based in Tennessee. She writes about identity as it is defined by culture, love, and cuisine. She previously served as managing editor of the Pinch and is currently working to complete her MFA at the University of Memphis. Her work is forthcoming in Honey Literary and Mouthful of Salt. You can find her on Instagram at @bethanydatuin.
Photo credit: Artem Balashevsky