What Do I Belong To?
I waited like a face
before a mirror
waiting for expression,
waiting for an answer to carry me through
until mealtime.
I washed the clothes, did all things
necessary to keep clean and fertile,
to rejuvenate and knead out the numbness
infiltrating one limb and another.
I asked like I was instructed to ask,
grazing at every opportunity, in spite
of the lack.
I moved against the shadows so they
wouldn’t consume, making every effort
not to harden, to curtail
this stasis that will turn to sickness and
turn again to death.
I am waiting for a reaping
in this favourite place
I call my own, so I can build upon,
have a steady flow to satiate all thirst,
have breathing room to flesh-out dreams –
some prayed for, some unexpected.
.
.
Copyright © 2024 by Allison Grayhurst

.
.
Published in “Setu” April 2024





https://www.setumag.com/2024/03/Lit-Art-Culture-Journal.html
https://www.setumag.com/2024/03/poetry-allison-grayhurst.html
.
.
Published in “Medusa’s Kitchen” March 2024





https://medusaskitchen.blogspot.com/2024/03/maelstrom.html
.
.
Published in “Winamop” March 2024




.
.
You can listen to the poem by clicking below:
.
.