hide and seek but never be found

i trust the universe

even though it lied to me

that i could go back

to the beginning

and find myself there

*

father

a drinker

mother

a pourer

me

a not-me

as i am always

farther than my mouther

self can be

from home

*

racial privilege

is when white out

means rewriting

and black out

means relighting

*

i’m asked if

all lives matter

and i am reminded

that none do

as my answer echoes

to the air

that isn’t inhaled

fully

when i speak

making full use

of its cannibalized cousins

*

lay down

lay down

rest

like a beast

who will spend

most of its life

avoiding the fact

that each sleep

is a wake of death

that opens its eyes

evermore

each day