Mama’s Lye
Where the wild things are
Souls dripping a heavy love
Where the coily things are
Coarse — reaching — evasive
Wafting lye and buttery shea
Oil strolls down the stems diving into the palm of mothering
A factory for esteem
Spirit rests in love’s clairvoyant obsidian eyes
Inside borders of plastic, glass and metal we build skyscrapers
Pressed and coiled in love’s reflection
Dreams of wild beautiful liberation roam free
—
cover image: “school of beauty, school of culture” (2012) kerry james marshall