(after Warsan Shire)
by theo legro
The year death began to follow me
in and out of every door.
The year of side-streets after midnight.
The year of hospital rooms.
The year of seeing my father
naked, my father morphine
dreaming, my father forgetting
my name.
The year the orchids lived
and my father died.
The year memory is an ivy
slithering up my body
sprouting umbels of bitter fruit.
Each year unwilling
to surrender my mouthful
of stones.
The year of partial truths.
The year of understanding
that all truths are not equal.
The year I belong to the dirt.
Theo LeGro is a Vietnamese-American woman poet transplanted 10 years ago to New York City from the suburban wilds of Northern Virginia. She likes reading, barren arctic landscapes, and a high, sweet bluegrass fiddle. This is her first publication.
LeGro can be found on Tumblr at feloncholia.tumblr.com, and on Instagram @feloncholia.
Art: “Justice” by Dillon Cruz
Dillon Naber Cruz is a permaculturist, writer, and photographer living in Lancaster, PA. His work seeks to embody the ethics of permaculture- creation care, neighbor care, and future care. Dillon enjoys capturing images from his local bioregion in the Susquehanna Valley and photographing the human beings that inhabit it. He maintains a blog writing about permaculture related themes and showcasing some of his photographs at dilloncruz72.wordpress.com