Rejuvenate // Self-Care // Polly Wants a Cracker ((3 poems))
Three poems published by Mojave He[art] Review
September 1, 2018
Rejuvenate
Do you ever feel you are / fire and water joined in one / a cross between burning desire / and passionate cultivation? / you may think the climate / silenced me but it did the opposite / I am ready to defend my earth mother / take back what we once had / to make heard what once / was silenced / bring light to the problems / which they wish / to shroud in darkness and obscurity / no more, we declare, no more / will you strip us of our rights / and take from us our dignity / we are fire, water, Earth / one and the same / we hear cries of those / who have been silenced / but refuse to disappear / so many still believe and / have faith in humankind / to discover what really matters / basic respect and love for all / I cannot see why it is so hard / to lower our walls and / embrace one another, strongly / to say, I will not let go / my brother / my sister, my friend / my mother / my father, my son and daughter / husband or wife, we are one / all the same inside / beating heart and lungs / no more than a bundle of bones / held together with nerves / and still we have the audacity to judge / to discriminate and desecrate / to destroy and demolish / my promise to you is: beware / when you least expect my bite / I will sink venom into your veins / intoxicate and debilitate / mine, forever more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Self-Care
Please, take the time
to rub lotion on your skin
stroke your every inch
like how you want your lovers to
and relish in the softness
luscious flesh smooth like the ocean
waiting to be discovered
uncharted but still crossed
uninvited pilgrims have taken
from you your self-control but
you – and only you – have the
power to change, to create a
new self-care ritual, renewal of love
and necessary adoration
respect for the woman you have
become.
You are wonderful, the way you
look to those who love you
but what you have yet to discover
is your own beauty, the way to
worship the bells of your laughter
hanging in the air.
The flicker of light playing in
your silken hair, the relish of
warm salt licked from lengths of
broken skin and shattered hearts
pieces of what once was
fitted back together
with molten, glistening gold.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Polly Wants a Cracker
You only want me
when I perch
upon your shoulder
nibble at your ear
& parrot sweet
nothings, professions
of undying love
whether true or false-
doesn’t change
how you stroke
ruffled feathers
feed me crackers
I am nothing more
than clipped wings
& broken syllables
a caged bird meant
to be tamed
you look at me
from a distance, observe curves of this body, slick skin I am a lizard, scaled, speckled, a snake ready to shed, fangs bared. Soon I will become new the way you always wanted; at your request, I will be reborn.
