Aftermath

Simmer down
Collect your copper coins
and pay the tall woman
in black
who will guide you from
one edge to another

don’t look down, or
you will see the reflection
of your imperfection.
Rejection.

Keep your eyes on me,
and I will push you to be
Like the baobab tree, firmly
planted in the earth. Sky
facing. Rooted in the stars.

Don’t cry, it is a waste of moonshine.
Don’t hope for a better day this time.
You should know better than that
Happiness always comes with a price tag,
Sewn into your rib cage with red fish gut,
by hands that have no faces. Just
scalpels and bottles of courage.