More than one
is more than
my piggy bank of secrets can hold
more than one
is more weight than this day can bear
more than one:
I’m brimming
with mes
no more the “I’m eating”
“I’m walking,”“I’m sleeping”
the me you know—the me in the jar—
is a sham
so don’t believe a word she says
bones within bones, flesh enfleshed
heavy-petaled, double-petaled roses
leave the garden too conning, the bees weaving
what a labor this will be—O, not me!
heavy with child
a score of hours
score of months
score of years
nothing ever born from this
not a single drop of rain
not a single drop
though the sky is lled with towering nimbi, anvils
by merely being more than one
more than one
more than one
wily fetus
living oother lives
curled inside the womb of the womb
__________________________________
From Raised by Wolves: Poems and Conversations by Amang. Used with the permission of the publisher, Deep Vellum. Translation copyright © 2020 by Steve Bradbury.
