Member-only story
I AM
I am a warrior, a Goddess — I am an acrobat
I am from the orange-speckled shag carpet and purple beads
that adorned my childhood home — from the fragrant, tangy, honeyed gardenia, kumquat and tangerine trees
I am from the tacky-sapped gaping rubber jungle gym which lured me to perambulate its branches — from red-tubed Pringles, orange slices, Sunny D
cleats, grass, leotards, mats, and blood-smeared chalky hands
I am a warrior, a Goddess yes — I am even an acrobat
I keep it real — I am a dabber of “Slow Dance” on my wrists, my temples between my breasts — I am from Sicily, England, Ireland, Germany,
France — and a pinch of Malta — from Phil and Sherry’s cracked limbs — lima beans and spaghetti, pizza burgers, canned green beans and corn
from peppers, onions and Italian sausage, relatives making rounds
I am a sea of moments, a rose unbudded before its time — a star enveloped by a black-caped night, shining bright but dimmed by life — I am an emerald mountain with a dollop of icicle frost — I am a lover
not a fighter — dreamer not doer — writer not talker — I am a pawn to life
I am a Queen awaiting her final move in this game we call life.
