Warn the Young Ones

First war She polishes the spine of her own

flesh Tethered nerve strangling cord She

burial moundsShe rituals She

cornstalks in rustling fields Nothing tribe

nothing sexRock for riverbedNotched

with flintSecond warShe needs lessSequoia

burnsCities In her body wrappings

of bodiesShe debates running She debates peeling

skinShe stops debating begins praying without

kneesNot for rain Prays rain Holy nothing

unlaces nothing remembered nothing

forgiven—Come othersThird war

She is a void in the particle machineShe is dust

Fourth war she loses the need for waterShe loses

all tasteRain brings each earthwormed corpse Nothing

uglyTurn not Her face from the deadShe

resurgenceShe fable of bee boxes

& honeyShe ark of some lost territory

of animalsShe zebrasShe aardvarks

She dredges the flooded streets of herthe gutters

Fifth warShe grows stronger All that can be

taken she takesAll that can be eaten

she swallowsAll that can be broken she

pulls into her belly & releasesNothing is whole

Sixth warShe loses her appetite Her bones brittle

The cabbage in the broth bitters She

pulls from ribcagesHearts Uses them

as weaponsSeventh warThe cord she began with

transformsShe wants to tell you this is the end She wants