qarrtsiluni

She gasps awake from dreams
of wildfires and deserts
to find the sheet scorched in her shape.
Hazy with heat, she staggers
towards a cool shower, closes dry eyes
and sighs as water spits and sizzles off her skin.

Drinking through pores she stands
through days and nights.
Steam clouds into mist, billows from
the window, spirals to suck in air
heavy with spore and seed.

Still, she drips and steams as lichen
grows on eyelids. Tendrils of creamy roots
twist between her toes and cluster under
sagging breasts. Creepers drape shoulders,
caress down her legs, insinuate
over floor and under doors.

New leaves unfurl, shine
with moisture; drip on buds
that swell, bloom and burst
to pollinate the laden air.
Hummingbirds blur to weave nests
from hair, jewel-bright frogs nestle
on mossy thighs and next-door’s errant macaw
preens on her shoulder, indifferent to posters
on telegraph poles and trees.

by Angela France

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