ON THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF OWNING LAKE MICHIGAN
in the beginning there were no lines no markers of where & what belong to whom
or why or in the beginning the sky ripped its mouths open so wide & out
poured a bloodorange yawn :: everything underneath transforms into mere element
consider the largest lake located entirely within a single country, boundlessness bent to the
whims of fermented ego. to possess infinity one must first find where it fractures then break
in the beginning a line is only ever drawn to light the path i take to find you—the sole line that
forms an arm extending out towards another bodypulling them in in in an invitation
inwards always. for months i am taught that one of the central elements of property law is the right to exclude & isn’t that laughable? for me to define what is mine in terms of what isn’t
yours? for me to own the closest river & air circling above land surveyed in my surname? for the land to belong to me & me alone because of whose name i inherit? for the right to water
to link arms& run with the land like a barnacle anchored headfirst to the hull of a
sinking ship: capillaries crack open to colonize. isn’t that American? to believe in clutching
a collection of atoms so close to our chests that our hearts forget to beat in anyone else’s
direction but our own? to obsess over borders?
to make language of
outer limits: invent ends
to all beginnings
ANIMAL
best to let the animal of your life live lavish
best to let her loose
scale by blue-black scale
unfetter the beast
as she becomes
a warm-bodied plea for more
of her own echo
best to let the seed sprout (let it break if it has to)
a door shut to desire is a trap
let her grow forest greentower over the wreckage
let her swallow
the smoke, drink
hot air whole
do not ask how she stomachs the fire let light pour out</br >
of an open mouth teach the tongue to dance around dying flame
then, stoke the embers of her
dimming light
back into a whole new sun
let her
let the animal of your life lick the plate clean
beet juice spilling down her chin: two red rivers run parallel
each corner of her
mouth a shore to land on
let her tread
where she is not welcome, let her citrus her wound
gash unhealed stinging
agape to the circulation of fear
both borrowed & hers alone
fear bleeds back her courage soured
her screams held in two closed fists
do not betray her gift of secrets
keep them safe
if you find her secrets brittle to the touch
grease them into a sculpture: a pair
of onyx horns brushed in midnight
sharp curve of anticipation
fit for an animal / meaning /
drenched in beauty
let the animal of your life come close
ask for her name, speak it quietly
then again
again
crush it into a soft shape
less language
the one of your dreams
