Message in a Bottle
Photograph by Rachel Fleischman
A murmur heard from within
Whispering between stomach and spleen
Our lady of immaculate conception
Trauma is proven contraception
Against rebirth and steadfastness
This storm I intended to set out in
Unsure of how to navigate
Anchored in my own body
No longer fighting the waves
Emotion teetering on insanity
Unwind and lean in
Ride the tides
Drink salty sea foam
From the shores of an ancestral home
Earth’s bountiful fresh fruit
Hydrate a dry mouth
Sweet juice unstable,
too can rot in the too hot sun
If only we could all lay
Under mycelium shade
All else feels alien and forced
Yet I too, am forced and alien
Now greeting myself in a voice
I’ll one day come to know