Inheritance

there was no fanfare.

it was, and suddenly, it wasn’t, i hear she grew a new

body, it was cold on cooper last winter when

i first learned how to pronounce goodbye in broken gutturals, i am in a

perpetual fall from grace. it is hard to tell, with my mouthful

of half-languages, should I ask time to give back

what is mine, how your overripe body roams

these neighbourhood streets, and the sirens got too loud, you could not

remember how your cinnamon arms peeled her skin like figs, curls of

velvet night in knots that were not taught to straighten

enough for this world, even when the men came, handsome, the way

only honey can be. that should have been

warning, scraping up a heartbroken girl, who comes from a home

of heartbroken girls, her last words left you with hundreds

more bodies, you remain silent, questions that come

with answers. liquid kohl eyes blur out your dreams. why

love that little girl if you were always going to leave. at what cost, how

much for us to be free?