when i had no food i feasted on poems
devouring symbol and text like a starved teenager
when i had no roof over my head i pretended i was an arctic wolf
sleeping where the earth would hold me tight
and dreaming deep, peaceful and content
when i had no safety i closed my eyes
heard my own breath and knew i could survive
when i had no lover to council me
i held myself open to the lures of nature
the moon caressed me while the mossy slick stones
played me like a marble suspended in the air
the moment stretched taut until it crashed back to light
when i had no “i” ieft, i let myself float free
and discovered time unhinged and the fragments of a dream
© 2023 kimberley bermender, maginei. all rights reserved