Harbinger

By Violeta Garcia-Mendoza

---

What does it mean that I’ve been dreaming 
about sunlight moving through old houses 

again? Vine-shadow on wood floors, endless 
rooms, the sound of wingbeats without birds.

Pittsburgh wisdom says you need a week in Florida 
when you can’t get out of bed. I up or down 

my dose of antidepressants when the clocks change. 
In the dreams, I wear a white dress, dust dragged 

along its hem. The houses are dis-inhabited 
but I know I’ve lived in some version of them. 

In real life I try to leave the past empty, open; 
a good mother haunts her life only in forward motion. 

When the nerves at my right hip shriek down my leg, 
I know it means my body needs to stretch.

I should exercise, drink more water, rest—
but I get through winter reading Gothic horror;

I trust myself with only so much selfishness.
In this city, potholes become a sign of character 

as much as of neglect. I remind my children all is still well 
when the bridges sway. In traffic, we count turkey vultures 

circling in the steel gray and call it soaring. 

---

---

Violeta Garcia-Mendoza is a Spanish-American poet, teacher, and suburban wildlife photographer. Her poetry has appeared in numerous literary journals, and in 2022, she received a grant from the Sustainable Arts Foundation. She is a member of the Madwomen in the Attic Writing Workshops at Carlow University. Violeta lives with her husband, teenage children, and pack of rescue dogs on a small certified wildlife habitat in western Pennsylvania. Songs for the Land-Bound is her debut collection.

---

• 10/3 / Meet the Artist with visiting poet-in-residence K.T. Landon / The Library at The Betsy-South Beach, Miami Beach, FL / Live and Live-Streamed on Instagram Live/Facebook Live at @swwimmiami / 6:00 pm EST / Free

• 10/3 / Poetry Reading with visiting poet-in-residence K.T. Landon + local writer Deborah DeNicola / The Library at The Betsy-South Beach, Miami Beach, FL / Live and Live-Streamed on Instagram Live/Facebook Live at @swwimmiami / 7:00 pm EST / Free

• Are you a SWWIMmer with literary news to share (publication/feature/award/book/book review)? We’d love to shout out your accomplishments in our Weekly Spotlight! Please email swwimmiami@gmail.com with a link to your news. (No DMs on any social media platforms, please.)

• Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter/X, and Bluesky for more updates—and visit our website to see past, present, and future readings & events.

---

**We do our best to preserve the integrity of each poem; however, due to programming limitations, some poems may read differently on a mobile phone and in certain browsers. For best viewing, use Chrome on a desktop/laptop.