muddy lungs
death flickered a coal light inside you
this morning as I separated from

the moon, my crater
my coffin

stars eat from the palm of my hand
festering caterpillars
from the stomach’s boiling acid

only the freshest babe
I selected from within an evening sky

will I *****
to not swallow, but choke on
and become as noxious as my lungs

African poesies will not awaken there
kneel, wilt, flowerlike.