What would you not
take with you if you needed
to go away? What would you keep?
A photograph, one dark blanket
embroidered with tiny seeds that mimic
the flowering of stars? A broken teacup,
your heart a sieve brought repeatedly
to the mouth of the sea— If only
you could remember what it’s like
to taste yourself in a basin
of shy leaves that pull away
at the slightest touch,
what the clean unlined sky was like
before you started to write
in order not to forget, before it filled
with rain and wings and glyphs.
In response to Via Negativa: Nation of immigrants.