the storm’s eye

what to think of mortality
corner store flashes
glass bottle souls pebbled knees
baby spirits that never squeezed
warmth from mother’s breasts a vulnerable shaking leaf
scathing heat that brews and brews
charred aftershock remarkable destiny
life juice wrung from solitude’s pale pallet

her body begs the question
a fertile limb
slick jade leaf sprout earth slurps
ginger nectar affinity
purple glowing pirouettes
she does not digest such a passing

how lungs form goodbye
in asthmatic bursts
memory heaves that (re)collect
the blisters like erupting volcano
and homemade salve to cool the magma swallows

how lungs form goodbye
maybe in grown woman lullaby
like amazing grace snagged from aretha’s honey bosoms
or some throaty chaka khan utterance
(i rocked your skin and bone frame
as my funny valentine swooned
around us in a sage smoked bedroom)

how to forgive trips never taken
leave a path of postcards orbiting grave
and tiny cups of india’s spice next to lilies
hum swahili river songs when i cry of you
and teach your daughters to count to 50 in tagalog
leave split coconut at your dirt altar
instruct your son never to stir in pots with knives
we will fly
dig our heals in pyramid sand
dance in brazilian arms
even in our dreams

how to avoid goodbye
the words do not manifest
are weightless waterless phantom
like ether you are simply vapor now
coffee sweetener
warming quilts
perfect driving music
the tangerine breeze i love matterlessly

*poem to be published in an upcoming journal on hiv and aids