Floodwater

Queer is the dam that powers their homes.

Queer is their denial with mortar and stones.

Queer is the crack at the base of the wall wall.

Queer is the flood that came down on them all.

Queer is the river that cuts through their street.

Queer is the water that dams at their feet.

Queer are their children who learned how to swim.

Queer are the songs that they sing like a hymn.

Queer are their houses being worn away.

Queer are the trees under which the dogs play.

Queer are the fields renewed by the flood.

Queer is the water paid for with blood.

Queer is the rust and the broken glass.

Queer are the weeds that grow in the grass.

Queer is the valley where houses once stood.

Queer is the river, queer is the wood.

-o0o-

I restored this poem. No word back from whether it would be published or not.

Craft

Words cut, as the tongue is a blade.

Teeth stitch and lips seal.

Marvel at the things I made.

A kiss to kill, a word to heal.

I have woven worlds out of "hello",

by the mere mention of my tongue.

When I said it, it was so,

and the world was sprung.

-o0o-

Survival

Sally's awake in the night.

Sally's awake in the day.

Sally's bruised from the fight.

Sally can't come out to play.

Sally is sick with the pox.

Sally's got blood in her hair.

Sally is hand-me-down socks.

Sally is worn threadbare.

Sally won't tell of her tears.

Sally is happy, serene.

Sally was missing for years.

Sally just tries to keep clean.

-o0o-