Before flight & bright water, this pixilate air―
splash-cast, unhatched, no glimpse of milk, just
one more dirt-poor palpi quivering in brindle.
As lowly yolk I hid scribbles inside other books.
As callow nymph stood upon the Roman pont,
cobbled streets, a vast sand dune, so many ruins
& squandered every moment, just like you. No matter.
Emergence is by far the older story: shed shell,
burst first breath. Instinct is our parent, too,
& motion: avalanche or nebulae in labor:
Put off the worm put on the dragonfly
Put off the sycophant, put on the Oppressor!
From the Ganges emerge―
Like Hermes enter.
Cover Art by Stephanie Broussard