Birdcoat Quarterly: october, philadelphia
october, philadelphia
watching the world from where i am, i am togethered
by the sight of it, mass of breathing bodies waving
in the streets of pennsylvania, sharing watermelon, defiant
& gorgeous. god of all gods, now a woman grips a key,
believing. she is days ago & i am here, watching
chicago, london, even orlando. i watch in the park
where the kneeling pray, held in by woven arms—
how joy moves in murmurations. fall jays flocking
stay attentive, each one, to the seven at its side.
you learn to live this way. a girl an age i was once
sits high above the crowd. i understand her hair
& wish her every braid. she is on a man’s shoulders,
the man is broad. he has a daughter. he is holding
both her hands—what she must know by now
to be here. how summer fruit survives.
