I Am Your Dutiful Daughter
I am your dutiful daughter
These words are carved on my flesh
I will wash crusted sleepers
From your eyes
Clip the whiskers
On your chin
Cool your skin
With rose water
In summer’s heat
I will enter
The dark swamp
Of your unwashed dreams
Pull your neck
Shoulders torso toes
From the muck
I will preserve
Your quiet
Like peaches preserved
Glistening in a jar
And smooth
Out the wrinkles of
Knowing and unknowing
At your behest
And as your eyes
Glaze into forgetfulness
I will settle next
To your bones
Your breath
Your empty breasts
As your secrets
Spill from my dreams
SELECTED WRITINGS:
Madison, Wisconsin, May 1970 (After Kent State)