my thyme withered at 18

distant from these limbs to salvage me

interlaced with my mother’s hands, fingers have gone frail

father maimed the garden

resemblances of a mother’s daughter

sent me to the sea, internal bleeding

crystallized prayers, a pocket of coin, an encompassing void

seeking god himself

salt on these scars, baptism, birth

back in my mother’s womb

you mailed me your picture

black and white pigment concealing

luminescence

my wedding smile mended in mortar

you didn’t know that these eyes had long lost their colour

sacrifices to sate a broken well

sweat with each of your words

where does love meet emptiness?

i didn’t ask for rib, sky and truth

effaced and pining

i couldn’t find my voice at 18, there’s no reprieve for a girl like me

seeking god within myself

i meant every loving syllable

found a compromise in contradiction

the years blanketed these bones

a swindled string of salvation

the fabric of god that I could never quite reach

waiting on these stars to summon me

ascend to your outstretched arms

all that ever knew me