for whom my being
here stops her
breath
further
from lung-held
air than stars over rivers
reduced to size within her
that bounded flare
she is that
sees me
– soil & water
that stood to walk
waters & soils merely
as they are now
& never
could know
the future for her
a tiny creature crawling
the palm : mine the
miraculous that
must come
step by
step & thus
am i stranger
to her than she is to
me as my sight
adjusts
to her
overbright glare
: perfect sunspots in her
oval sun that return this
stare with what
might be
awe or anger
Mario Petrucci
Illustration Nick Victor