at first, pacifier/less. a thumb offers most. the heart tremors among
the first beating. in Paris, i bathed w/ naked women
wrinkled & tart. the heavy postwar memory of fossilized sinks. who
hides beneath mosaic & tadelakt chipped? i am here to love me. cursed
haunch & dimpled bottom. scrub me spoiled w/ loofah till their
arms tire. my skin, a bright pink cashew refuted by the hearts
of sons. am i, the only lonely, in this hammam cast out?
commandments & confirmations. haven’t we all been soured?
honor thy father, mother, thy suitor, lover, thy wedded; themselves
foolish. foolish me w/ dreams. somehow the movers were never
booked. bellies never swollen pearls. in former lives i was all brides.
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From Village by LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs, available from Coffee House Press