Breadcrumb #599

LINDSAY KILLIPS

i was born loose
like lilac laughs 

hips, hair
shoulders, shadows
lungs, love

too much, stretch.

a boy’s hands plunge,
an ice-fisher, desperate
for flesh

lilacs coagulate in my throat
my right hip.
petals lump, coal, 
match my shadow. 

my voice
burrows, scared 
play dead. 
play dead. play dead. 
until my flesh 
is no longer wanted. 

heavy hip,
store black mass silence
like severed, tangled roots 

my soil
is ready to laugh 
until those congealed lilacs blush 
across my skin. 
my soil
is ready, absolved, for aloe
baby’s breath, peace lily.

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