Words to the River

What do you say, god,
to the river
when you tell it to run?

What words do you give, god,
to the river
so that it flows the right way?

Strong words, I think
strong and kind
that you must give the river
for it to run so faithful
and to flow so joyous

Mikva'ot

 I want to find myself
in an in-between place
unbreathing, under the waves
and speak to you there

divining rod

I see you, Miriam
Tapping your divining rod on the ground

thdnt thdnt thdnt

Then driving it right through the crust
So that water comes spilling out

Korach in the Grove

 In the grove, shadowed by canopy,
I met Korach
Cloaked in dust,
And he asked to walk with me

The trees in the grove,
Have an unusual quality
Not of a kind, but rather,
Blessed with individuality
"Like us," he said
"But all still always the grove.'

I asked him his regrets,
And he replied:
"I have many,
But I doubt the one you suspect.

I would, even now
challenge Moshe though perhaps,
With more of my tribe beside me"

And with that a laugh
So we walked on, in the grove

time does not pass
As it does elsewhere, and yet

"The Earth still takes her share," Smiled Korach, waving me away
A breeze rising, causing leaves to sway
A wind pushing, pushing me away
A flourish that ends the day, to fill the air
"I must return to sheol, for
I have so much work to do there"

5am

It's 5am
And you're hungry
And you've somehow managed to stay up this late again
And you just want to sleep
You just desperately want to sleep
But your stomach hurts and no matter how much you lie there and no matter how much you try to ignore it there's no way you're getting to sleep
So you're hungry
And you need to eat
But eating is hard.
What is there to eat?
Need to cook a whole meal or just have toast again but you've eaten toast twice a day every day for a week and you're way past being sick of it and even though you know you're going to just eat it eventually you're trying to put it off as long as possible and
Fuck
Why does being hungry hurt
Why can't you sleep
You pick up your phone
Scroll through discord
Try to build up the effort to make something
Write a poem
Text a friend
Whatever
You're still hungry
You're still tired
It still hurts
Fuck. 

breasts

I’m obsessed with

the tactile sensations, the aesthetic oddities

that mark me as new at this.

The feeling of it

beneath my arm, just below

the armpit, skin

raised a little, firm.

Reaching forward, my body pressed together

flesh, peninsulate

Pressing my chin down and

Finding purchase and 

comfort and 

rest

The sight of it

looking to my side and seeing them

sticking out, holding my attention

standing still for minutes on end

Peering down, or in a mirror

learning my different angles

the different shapes I make

what my body can do

I wonder when the fascination might end

or if it might just last forever

the uniqueness of experience, stretched to bursting

The Longest Day

At dawn, on the longest day
When all the world begins to stir
And Rooster announces his fanfare
Bright light rushes to fill the leys
Then a crackling of power in the air

The wind blows just ever kinder
The rain just a tad more soft
And the trees hold their leaves aloft
Songbird sings her sweet reminder
And the lasses grin, working the croft

For the birds cry strong on the rolling moor
Telling days of the lost, ancient lore
Ah yes, there was magic in the land before
And now, at last, it's come once more