May
This Rock
I found this rock today
and inside it I saw a mountain
its shape flat on the bottom
sloping steeply upward
forming two humps
instead of a single point
I found it near the railroad tracks
among others like it
their sharp edges
and monochromatic hue
signs of human intervention
a path dreamed up by colonial minds
built by immigrant bodies
This rock among millions
extracted from their homes
in the earth
broken into bits and pieces
carried to a new place
a new purpose thrust upon them
This rock ordered to stay
near steel spikes
among milled ties treated with creosote
beside rigid tracks
stretching toward eternity
But I freed this rock
and now I turn it over in my hand
wonder about its age
its family
its place of origin
I feel its strength
wish I could absorb its wisdom
its patience
by rubbing it gently with my thumb
carrying it in my pocket
Is this rock meant to accompany me now?
Or is that my colonial mindset
giving me permission
to steal
beauty from the earth?June
On Patience
a small ceramic bird
painted blue
sweet-faced and serene
the perfect size to hold
in the palm of your hand
like a secret
whispered to a lover
when your body finally believes
she is safe enough to trust
cradling the bird
taking in its simple beauty
letters so small you don’t notice them at first
prim, curved, black
resting lightly atop the blue
near the creature’s base
P-a-t-i-e-n-c-e
even spelling the suggestion aloud
takes longer than it should
two syllables, eight letters
resting indifferently on this nicknack
as if the word could stay there
for days, or years, or forever
before catching someone’s eye
working themselves into
the frantic pace of a life full
of hopes, dreams, expectations
worries much too important
for advice scrawled
on the lower abdomen of a whimsical bird
its shape all soft lines
and gentle contours
barely a beak
more the suggestion of one
the tiniest bit of pinching enhanced by a delicate
brush stroke on the white background
no sign of naked, pointed feet
or spindly legs
a simplistic yet unmistakable form
a miniature songbird
sitting upright
holding your attention
as you wonder
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