When her child first arrived
She understood the contrarian view
She buried shells in the sand
Each with a name tucked inside
Tekla found his love in an open market
Fumes and fabrics tangled together
He felt an elastic vibration
Knew his steps would forever change
She could not yet see the day
Knew that something familiar stood before her
She borrowed a face from the woman next door
And descended the steps
He was made angry
By the wicked words
Of those who did not see the gathering
A bouquet of bodies standing demure
Leaning into silent change
She thumbed the rough of a bottle cap
And thought of drought
Could not shake the image of blood pooling on sand
Opened her eyes to the shimmering city
There is more to this
Than a friendly mask
A dictator swallows the clouds for shade
And the people are left beneath the sun
As fire rages in their spines
11
Isis knew this was the time
Armed with a voice and body
She raised her arms to the sky
And swallowed her saliva
How do you disappear fear?
Quelled by a misremembering
Shorn by time’s scissors
Made hot by the starry night
BLACK RENAISSANCE NOIRE
If every day he had to say again
That change will not come without struggle
If every moment someone called his bluff
He knew he’d never become one of them