Breathing
2013
Once upon a time, there was a Space
not warm, not safe
and an exhausted dyke
—a kite that had chewed thru its string
who ran wild among the stars —
and sometimes she wrote it down
but mostly things happened and she forgot them
because life was enormous
it was endlessly windy and there was no tether
and she dreamed of rooted things
of being saved
tied down or sprouting wings
to fly home from all that Away
in another story she builds a home
now
she only wants to go home.
Once upon a time
there was a weird paradise called Florida
and in her mother's house
things can be so soft and lulling
the bedding, her mothers’ skin
the way time flows
but it’s a trick
and she learns to duck and cover
from the bloodied edges
of the jagged traps
and so misses the authentic softness when it comes
when it comes, she is not here
she is a suit of armor
a sort of anchor
a red light flashing in and out of consciousness
She hasn't breathed for days.
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