December - Poem 31

We cannot afford to remember only the bitter-breath / A Cento

with lines drawn from Kate Bowers, Katie Collins, Ellen Ferguson, Chris Fong Chew, Davis Hicks, Victor Barnuevo Velasco, Jen Wagner, and Stacy Walker.

aliveness is                                                                                                       the trade value.

the scent always                                                                                               paired with coyote promises

In words and worlds                                                                                     not meant for me

and the stillness

can tell                                                                                                             a story

how malleable light is

I find myself lost

                                                                                                                          in waiting,

the question becomes

another

Can you find me here? 

Lingering in the shade                                                                                      between two and three

The gnawing that knots

Already the house begins to split open, 

like a crackerjack or pomegranate scattering

The stars I claim are misaligned
I know no                                                              constellations

If you were to ask. And I were to answer 

The worst thing you could have in this world is a biology

Do whatever you have to do to make it                                                             back to the air

Decant your spirits with abandon, knowing this:
                                                                                                                      I was the sign

I can bring lifeboats                                             and landing gear

and pen paper and pen paper                                                              and pen began began

Imagine the world outside your lens

                                                                         Because someday