God, grant me the serenity to accept, with upraised palms, smooth like two nickels, the word that sometimes, like a loosed neuron, frenetically flits across a yellow field,
St. Francis’s Prayer and the Serenity Prayer
Kelvinator; Dear Balouchi Weaver of the Afghan Mountains; Driving to the Early Service; The Day Begins; Meet for Lunch
A doe’s head, just her head, Midways in the county road. Raccoons. Possums. Squirrels. Whole deer But never a severed head.
Jhijiya
Filled with excitement my eyes lit; Oh, what a majestic sight it is. A woman so unbelievable; Possessing such strength and perfect balance; Even the patriarchy would-be mum.
Alligators, Dry Well; Now That I Have a Son; What Happened Was; This Wake
I had this recurring dream as a child in which my mother was eaten by an alligator.
Sugar
(Beyond, in the metro, women dance while commuters move past, tied to their greater causes, ants for crumbs, mad for blood, seeds to leaves.)
Metamorphose; How to Walk Across a Tightrope with an Elephant on Your Shoulders
Medusa, do the snakes snap at your fingers when you run a comb through your tresses? Or do they unravel their bodies, straightening into an Eden of hoses that could power wash the stains out of the enemies you’ve turned to stone?