Response from Michelle Peñaloza, OtB Writers Corps Ambassador

Place your feet upon my chest                       leap forward blind

Stop stop stop              get it right, her therapist’s here

 

let’s begin again

            the fourth border: a cylinder refracted in fringe

we are a church of sorts:      
    stand in the middle
            worship with awkward talk                 gather surround

prairie aurora
                      geode halve
      volcano mouth
      cyclops iris

 

made blind fivefold—

 

bless                the floor with the oil from your brow
            bless                the floor with timpani feet
bless                the shapes with air: treble timbre temperament
            bless                the tongues the body sings
bless                fa
            bless                sol
bless                mi

 

what are these blessings
                        for the borderless

                                                          uninitiated?

                                    what’s the song
                          beneath the song / what         do you want

           my heart
  to know? 
what happened to do-re-mi?

 

(you can’t) look
                       me in the eye and say
you know what she’s saying   

 

stop stop stop              try again
     how to be egalitarian

how long until I know what I’m doing?
    am I hopeless?

don’t panic, little lamb—
    shed more walls

I will always catch you with my toes