i grew a body
over the decades & seasons:
sturdy legs, giraffe high ceilings & brown
weathered arms during long winter nights
i found my stubborn voice
from the brick chimney, incessant howling
of a child on a strong
stormy day, black hair whiplashed by wind
i discovered my elephant's ears-
doors opening and footsteps are news -
jostling voices by dinner table and kitchen
are stories, as are goodbyes from the stoop and stairs
you talk to me as if i am more than bricks and stones
and painted white walls. you see, i stitched a tail
to swim with blue whale at the basement and green-
thumbed my fingers to forest neon pothos
and chatter with ferns & crotons & ivy -
-no we do not linger on chaos & turmoil of news-
we fill our heads with birdsongs & spring's arrival of lilacs-
& yes, i am scrubbed clean, ready for Sunday's open house-
the woman holding the box of for-sale placards wrestles
with her decision - keep my keys or give it to someone else -
i like to believe i am priceless burrow of maps
and irreplaceable nest of "memories"
but reality hits as sudden hail storm on a sunny day-
regardless of the price tag listed in the property deed
- to safe keep my keys -
my face grew a character, familiar as musk of pines-
because all this time, you see, we grew in/
out of each other
watching the dying sunlight by maple tree
Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - MTB: Magical Realism. Join us when the virtual pub doors open at 3pm EST. Please see our exciting 2026 Anthology Project to celebrate the 15th anniversary of dVerse Poets Pub here.
