Poisoned or fertile
The roots are permanent

Great-grandmother handed Grandmother
Her first of many Valium
Both of them point out the most beautiful clouds
in the middle of conversations

When the speed of things wears me down,
I desire euphoria and cry at the site of thunderheads.

Great-grandfather taught grandfather
How to read, speak and write in Shame
Each perfect word builds the empty rooms they inhabit
And only singular truths comfort them

When I am alone at night, a star in the sky whispers:
“Being small is the start of every infinite and simultaneous connection.”

Missing or intact
The wood of a branch remains

Grandmother showed mother
That in order to live forever, you must tolerate harm under the armor of love
Grandmother did not mention that this ritual requires the path between
Your soul and the sound of your own laughter to be blocked

When a new scar is finished healing,
I relish the way the sun tans it into view.