solo, skirting the rim of our smolder, our ruin,
all lotus bud, bell-beat & drum-song, those many hands &
the severed heads they hold, masc-demonic,
a warning. alone in the neither
light nor dark, she will stay the dusty blue
of not-time, will evade even as she creates,
is death & is energy, is. i cannot imagine
this : outliving one’s infamy. how women
survive being burned alive & offer, in return,
forgiveness. girls with reconstructed faces
refusing hate. i want to crown all victims
with the safety of fur, give each
our own grove, something sacred, i want
to worship dichotomy. o goddess of lust
& violence, i tire of trying to find peace.
i want to unleash. to be taught
rage. kali, we lived & our bodies were
trespassed. release us from this cage.