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TA NOONAN |
I. Ishtar
*
oil
warms
one month of radiation
crowns
shine by moonlight
&
a crescent-shaped scar
crosslight
where my daughter’s hand comes back
the
initiate dresses herself
IV. Inanna
*
my second language
to
silence
plainsong
of
the breast
wind over reeds
the
mother sings
stirring
honey
X. Aphrodite
*
clad in little trees
steel
slipped beneath linen
& skin
her
ankle a forest of kisses
healer’s
hands
her breath on my ear
shaping the
sign for remission
the cure for winter
XV. Kali
*
cut here & see
cut
here & see
how much
woman can live
how black my skin with blood
inside half a woman
who
stands on another’s back
XVIII. Demeter
*
& what of my daughter
who seeks me in a field
unsure
of her own skin
one eye
cast back
to a clump of daisies
fingers
searching the dark pulp for pits
XIX. Parvati
*
tilt
your face toward mine
this is a woman’s jaw
it
cannot be held open by force
remember you are annoited by queens
remember you are your mother’s voice
this is the last place we will speak so freely
when
the breads left altarside stale, we shall forget our tongues
XXV. Lilith
*
slice an apple sideways to reveal the star
a
cherry-blossom space
my
husband believed the pale inner fruit
should stay
pale outer color an estimation
how sugar could burst in his mouth like a supernova
my secret
what
browns so quick is what surrounds
nothing fades when nothing is there
XXVI. Shekhinah
*
no pink in
a tiger’s eye
flash
of asbestos rainbow
each iris spark a
layer of pressure
speaking what the mouth cannot
born dark
& poisonous
still
I rise in shimmers
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