Coincidence of 95

Today, a cold front dropped the temperature to 95 degrees from one-o-seven. Sparks from a barbecue pit hitched behind a small truck driven by an oblivious driver ignited acres of pastureland along State Highway 95. The Angel Number 95 says, Listen to your inner voice. Your life will settle down with no hitches. Five added to nine equals 14, the year the Twentieth Century’s Great War began in Europe. Nine signifies completion, and five, transformation; together they could spell death, but the 9 and the 5 in 95 have turned their backs on one another.  Americium, a radioactive element in solid (but soft) form with a silvery appearance, has an atomic number of 95. Although beautiful, when found at hydrogen-bomb sites or a place like Chernobyl, it must be neutralized. It is one of a number of elements occurring in Przybylski’s Star and in your home smoke detector. Ninety-five is the dialing code of Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma. The Roman numeral equivalent of 95 is XCV. Near Paris, Val-d’Oise, with its silty soil, good for growing the weeping willow, is Department 95. Once we left Connecticut on Easter morning & via the I-95 corridor survived to see Florida the next day. Trust in your abilities, says Angel 95. Doesn't she see how tired I am? Today is my mother’s birthday. If not dead, she would be 95. A Leo mother is a cross to bear. On the Feast of the Epiphany in 1995, a husband (mine) died—a surprise of sorts. But in a photo taken right before, I saw a look in his eyes as though he were hearing a conversation no one else was privy to, a look of completion & transformation, a look of calling it quits. I wanted to understand, but I came undone. Shavaq, the Aramaic word for forgive, means to untie and is used 95 times in the Bible. You’d think it would be more.  

CECILLE MARCATO

Cecille Marcato (she/her) is a poet and cartoonist in Austin, Texas. Her work has appeared or is upcoming in Leon, South Florida Poetry Journal, Free State Review, Naugatuck River Review, Husk, Solstice, and Slipstream. She holds degrees in literature and design and graduated from the Warren Wilson College MFA Program for Writers.