Around the World, Into the Sun

I fell in step with a crane

as she pulls into the sun

she nods once at a macaw

who turns his face to the sea

caged-

porous rectangle

his glazed eyes say, t h e r e

a hen squawks passing the metal frame

drops an egg

And I thought to myself

how

I never saw

pandas eating bamboo in the wild

And I rip up a day-old sourdough bagel

scattering bits in the wind

I stood at the edge of the world

and fell into a fermented jar of flour water

Inhaling fumes of the past

I was made for combat

transgressions I have no power to erase

To arms!

Gingerly, I sit in the sticky

homemade yeast

and close my eyes

I see us

We run

Run

To rest at the laurels of tangled vines

in our heavy

cranium

We are a mutated mass of

the same

we carry a strength token

to breathe

a burden token on our uneven shoulders

begging for reprieve

And the crane flew

she was moved to go home

her wingspan coating the sky

with beauty

we watch lighting hit

a deepness in our aesthetic

pulsing

for a home

s o m e w h e r e