Fibrous

—for Zelda

I pull my hair out, my weeds, with both hands

grasped

satisfying loosening of flesh

uprooted

dirt and gravel spilling down around raw nerve

endings

admiring resilient root

system, crawling 

back to the mother…

I shed what grounded me.

A release, gripped tightly, warrior

stance

This one is taller than me, like a sapling

and I pose with it like a fish, bloody 

opened flesh

fresh 

rosy cheeks, freckled skin 

This one is slimmer than me, like a strand I 

missed 

settled in 

It’s not excuses, it’s just 

the way she throws her head back and laughs.