Aboveground, I am all blade,
shedding filaments to keep
my edges keen. I can go months
& months without water.
My connections to this sand-
stone ridge run deep.
But I don’t know why when I blossom,
nothing happens. My nights
have never turned incandescent
at the touch of fabled wings.
My panicle is a pale flag
that no one ever salutes.
This couldn’t be exile, could it?
There’s desert enough here
for those who wait.
All through the dry season,
Prosartes lanuginosa
Their ringing isn’t obvious;
you need the ear
of an anchorite to find them.
Listen for water tricking under rocks,
a black-throated green warbler’s
five wheezy notes.
Look beneath creased leaves
& zigzag branches
for a bell of quiet yellow-green
that flares into a six-pointed star,
anthers facing outward
around a stout style—
all of which must drop away
to swell the bell’s heir,
a scarlet clapper.
Drops of water,
Flowing seas.
Those who weep,
The happy.
A flickering match,
Burning countries.
Sorrows and worries,
So carefree.
Loving a memory,
So full of detest.
Holding a flower,
So lifeless.
A plate of food,
Empty stomach.
A helping hand,
For trouble.
A beautiful song,
Such a sweet melody.
Enchanting voices,
Leading to the sea.
A bottomless pit,
Filled with water.
A tranquil paradise,
Immersed in laughter.
Warm welcomes,
Cries of delight.
When we're submerged,
We're hidden from light.
Knowing glances,
Shared secrets.
As the dwellers,
Come to meet us.
my bones, charred and brittle,
scream underneath my weight.
dark. it's so dark in here.
my heart, licked by the sudden flames,
threatens to burst.
ashes fill my shriveled lungs.
my skin, branded for all to see,
itches and burns.
water. i need water.
please.
help me.
we both, wanted, to be headless mannequins
searching for ways to silence the noise upstairs
while the remainder of the body
did what the body does.
we wanted the mind
to wash the hands
while the hands
did what hands do.
maybe as kids
every print our feet made
was something inconceivable,
but eventually we saw wrinkles,
and the road not taken
already had hand-printed cement,
gum-stuck in the underneaths,
and what’s the point in walking
As I lay drowning in a pool of your lies
I whispered our love story to the lady of the waters
She listened to my every word, dried my broken tears
I became to love her softness and gentle womanhood
I pledged to her my honor and respect above all others
To treat her as my family
A sister, aunt and Mother
Water flows so fast but
They can't match my thoughts
Disturbing my mind
Birds sang so sweet and louder
I looked up
That orange bright light made my day
Lighting up me and world
Telling me to let down everything go
As it goes
Dear Water,
Thank you for being more than
just a substance composed of
chemical elements.
Thank you for quenching
my body's thirst for you everyday with no effort.
Thank for rolling down my cheeks,
carrying my emotional baggage
whenever i can no longer carry it.
Thank you for being a great conductor of sound
when everything around me is silent.
Thank you for teaching me that even though it's barricated,
I can still get to the other side through the cracks.
Thank You.
Whenever i see you cry,
I'm reminded that a bit too much of something is not good for you.
I'm reminded of waves, and how, like people
they have the ability to bring joy
and also cause pain.
I'm reminded that even on it's bad days,
the ocean, together with cliffs
continues to be a great conductor
of the only sound that keeps me sane.
I'm reminded that the only difference
between tears and waterfalls,
is what causes the water to fall down.
It's a sea,
raging all around me
There's no escape
From the feeling of drowning
How could they
just leave me here?
Alone to drown
No sense of direction
Where is up?
Where is forward?
What is going on?
There's nothing,
Nothing left
I need to find my own way
With no one to help me
Maybe,
The forest stream grumbles as the big rock
Makes it swerve sharply to the right
But is relieved that around the bend
It can flow freely again.
It swirls; over the sand bed the stream made
Where I lie in total stupor
The stream gurgles happily over the little stones and rocks
That cradles me like a foetus in its womb.
I lie, floating, watching my toes peeking out of the water
And my nose, like a periscope
This bloated corpulence slapped
Gently by the ripples of the water.
The sun is clouded out for the moment
I close my eyes in bliss
All I hear are the chuckle of the stream
And the chirping of the Wagtail.