spirits of small flesh and flowers
possess the eyes of grand-daughters
of the south
and when the sky cried into us
we remembered how to talk with our hearts towards the ground
stems crawling out of our bellies
like the ones that brought us into this world
and when we died we came back as
wind knocking on the windows of our selves
disguised as waves with metal breasts and
sapphire petals for amulets touched with blood from the moon and the sea
to protect those who told the stories of us.
So we went and we danced and we smiled
knowing that there was knowledge in the embrace of the unknown
and that our eyes held secrets to lands they would never touch.
I watched my body open up and tangle itself free
Limbs learning a new language only spoken in whispers
Kissed you in butterfly
my mother’s tongue
We fled homes that burned into the earth and we coiled with them
They would enter worlds outside of themselves and make new selves
lit by whispers
Whoever had this body before me left messages
sometimes moving in echoes.
Follow me through tunnels that bend inward
I will show you the seams and seeds living and breathing in
wet cocoons
Blooming in my hands
Filling up the lungs of the coast and seeping through eyes which I can not kiss softly enough
I found a ghost of myself and began speaking to her from the other side but she can not see me
I am making a dress for a ceremony to be worn for the “in between” phase of the in the between
Follow me through tunnels that bend inward
