mother of wild | dangerous woman
I wanted to be a rose
Velvet petals and teasing thorns
Delicate and easy to hold
I am willow tree breasts
And thighs like galaxies
A sand dune belly
Siren call hips
And sea storm eyes
I am soft in all of the right
And wrong places
Nobody thought
To give my body a map
I wanted to be a rose
But I am devasting
And cannot be wrapped in cellophane
i am plush
and easily broken, warmed butter woman
instead of hardening i will simply grow taller
though my muddy toes splay and sprawl into damp earth
cloud bottoms tickle my palms and wind dances between my elbows
i grin at the stars and my fingertips reach
reach reach clear across the universe
sunflower girl, vulnerable and untouchable
your first mistake was not realizing i could be both
not every little girl
is a princess
some of them
are dragons
with hot breath and sharp hands
they hunt for treasure
and scare men
it is so easy to climb back
into bed with my demons
sheets cold but worn
decades of “sleep well”
decades of “good morning”
decades of looking into the same tired faces
with bleary eyes and foggy minds
i am tired
so very tired
i would leave
i should leave
but look at how much i have to pack 
what an honor it is
to be
half barbaric
half divine
animals made in the image, the heart, the strength of God
what a burden
what a reckoning
what a legacy
chosen to be partly of the heavens, partly of the wood
greasy, gritty, holy
licking our bloody chops clean before communion
washing the muck from our white robes; god-beast
can you be wholly anything when you are a half-breed?
i think we have it wrong
we do not have to tame anything
water crushes in waves and cushions your brain
fire comforts and ravages entire cities
divinity is just a different kind of wild
nothing is heavier than air
that fills an empty crib
hollow and crushing
cradled grief
hush little nothing
don’t say
a word
