as
above, so below
moon
reflects the pools
of
canyons and craters long since vanished
into
the mirror, beneath the sky
oduduwa
exhales
her
breath condenses
droplets
of heat
burning
brightly in heaven
ela
mi ela dances
and
her sweat covers onile's head
a
bath, a libation
a
promise
the
first
pool
we crawl out slimy
with
possibilities
earth
hovers
between
light and dark
seen
and unseen
reflections
one of the other
wrapped
by the snake's belly
no
one can know what lies at the bottom of the sea
here,
we keep all of our mysteries
old
tales too strong for constant repetition
roadways,
long since overgrown
with
speculation and purposeful misunderstandings
old
bones, too brittle for the shark's bite,
collapse,
dis-memory
of
the first
promise
the
hour glass
remembers
we
wear fine beads from the depths
of
our own ancestors souls,
covenants
we cannot keep
since
we have set a price
on
the thing that was the payment itself
tides
shuffle the sands
each
time
somewhere
someone
remembers
a something
that
they never knew
in
the first place
unmemory
sand
and chalk and bone
retrace
ancient steps that can
no
longer be verified
we
stumble on the curly flourish
incapable
of comprehending
why
a serpent would swallow its own tale
a
lone bell clangs
calling
calling
how
do you answer without taking on water?
heavy
we
sink straight
through
the bottom
slimy
with
decay
resplendent
on our journey
back
to the stars