Ebo
Choking choking
molten lead in my breast.
Each morning brings return.
I am a shell, alien
blood black in my stools.
My imaginary ancestors remind me
until I give myself to spirit I am bound
to repeat the rituals of fire & water.
In my belly, the ulcer burns
& my heart,
like a leaf twisting up from flames
or a spark crashing into dust,
turns away again
from love’s release
to face the night.