hold fast hold strong

tshirt the color of an eggplant
even if i do not always feel at home
in this body
at least today
i feel good in it
one might even say the word swagger

floorgathered
we talk about the differences
between this photo

and this

wherein i am introduced
to the visual poetry
tiny bookworlds
smallsculptures of
elisabetta gut

kitchentable sitting
hands cupped around bowls piled rice and broccoli and peanut sauce
three of us
i didn’t expect it to get so quiet
i thought everyone wanted to kill themselves
in high school

and how i must iterate
the first goths i ever saw
(we’re talking pancake makeup
and goodwill wedding dress lace
before goodwill went corporate/mainstream)
pack-roaming
almost levitating
at the mall
(where i learned about/became obsessed with
m.c. escher
at the poster store)
at least 12 years before the birth
of hot topic

subject: hold strong
subject: hold fast
and then there are the forestphotos
memories i have of a place i’ve never been
heart traveling along tree roots
lungs
bones
cartilage
coming home