By Loreal Barker-Brown


-I don’t know why we forget…

it’s all temporary-
a full belly
a smooth face
the course a creek takes

the piece of paper in my hand,

what is fire or water
but you and I
and starlight united?

& the star that fades
is feeding the Robin that sings 
outside my door-

the birdsong is written
on the walls of my heart,
the curve of the cow’s horn

everyday the earthworm
rolls deep the soil
softens

the crown a Child makes,
daisy and dandelion
is the promise over & over:

you belong to me
and I to you.

Soil & Sky 
this place, this time

only nothing never changes-
and what is that?

What is the Crow’s Beak
made of but all that has gone on before me
and is built into the chain of what will come after
I am gone

I’m Here,
with the Crow on my Shoulder
and the Song on My lips:

My belly full- for how long…
who am I to ask?

But we were united,
once and so forever
I belong to you.

–L