I feel like I’m down in the muddy side
drinking from the river of fear
the estuary’s mouth
a space grown wide
like some red-blotched wash of negativity
All that has made me feel so heavy
Where do we go from here?

This world has enough fragments
I forgot
I am the shore
This is where the roots are
their tongues heavy with the taste of
desire
possibility
This is how the forest regenerates
Do you remember
wonder?

This is the poem that has been staring at you
I just call it a baptism
The arc of our lives
falling in 3 parts
Some things refuse to unravel
the places you have yet to go
love and memory
you can still drink from a chipped cup

~ Created/modified from lines, phrases, & titles of poems in the LEXPOMO 2019 anthology “If Only They Were Hungrier They Would Swallow Me Whole,” in order of appearance (including title): Amanda Crum, Jude Lally, Jazzy, Christina Joy, T.L. Andry, Sylvia Ahrens, Jazzy, Jennifer (Stricklett) Dobson, Madison Miller, Bianca Bargo, Christina Joy, Rachel Bollman, Rachel, J K Elias, Michelle Knickerbocker, Amanda Holt, A. E. Bryant, Larry Wheeler, Pauletta Hansel, Jazzy, Pat Owen, Shaun Taylor, Heather Dent, Madison Miller, Jay McCoy, Deat.