David Ishaya Osu
September 11, 2016
twice & swim
it was from my mother’s
mouth i first saw a kiss: your
name is in the bible, she said
& opened the curtains
show her your navel
twice & run
away from
dreaming, just
cold the root
the coal
burning
in my black
box is my blossom
& soon—she peeled
a pear, placed it
on my steel tongue
twice & said:
your bed is not a mistake
……….all the pillows have fallen i keep playing a song till it enters my blood because there is no space
except traveling through threads around funguses the toast must be by a body as open as a boxfriend
your voice is on the outskirts of a blue sky……….a skin is never…………………………dead in the
ground…………………………where else is rainwater……………….. in your tongue
is the next door neigh……………….. hidden or asking for the top of cakes i stopped sleeping at night my
tattoo is not a taboo is……………….. drawing cherries on a whiteboard and giving ghosts nothing to taste a
river on a long trip
……….be blind: the ocean
is upside down
……….i do not clock
outdoors: the miracle
……….was to turn blood
into candy—and
……….jesus will light
every apple in spite
……….of wound or
soldiers

Jenzo DuQue

Janice Lee

Chelsea Sutton
