the elusive dark : slow curve
of a mother’s spine : riverbank
              solid enough to stand : home
a starsilver river of arms
 
              my mother’s riverbend is subtle
& soft : her arms wet firefly
              light : home the far shore of her heart
& i : the traveler boatless
 
                         //
 
              a green fish rises from my mother’s
water : shows me how to take apart
              my bones : how to break & reposition
them to make of me a boat :
 
              ribcage hull : femur mast : scaffolding
of tibia & spine : if i leak i fill the gaps
              with teeth : the fish says if i use my skin
for sails i won’t need my mother’s body :
 
              yes i say but who

                         will brush my hair