after the 25th Poets Walk with Poets House in NYC
I think about the kindnesses in my life. I met a man on the downtown 2 train
Who told me I had good energy, asked me about my Freddie Mercury pin,
And said he knew I was a teacher. I think about the way I’ve spent so long looking
For a man unafraid of his heart, unhindered by his feelings—and have finally found one.
The world almost ended, and now the blue sky is a stale brown, the sun a flaming red.
How is this city on the cusp of summer? Here, I am walking with others, in poetry,
For poetry and the poetry of this moment is, you never know where your life will lead you.
James Bridle says, we are constantly being brought closer to the world, and I feel that, here,
Suspended in the uncertainty of smog, in the remnants of flame, and I’ve never felt closer
To my self—to my womanhood. I hold myself. A friend uses intuition to aid my apartment
Search saying, practice gratitude tonight, and I do. On the way home, I run through the catalog
Of my body naming each part in my mind and meditating. I catalog my friends and loved
Ones, too, and when I get to my street, I think about my love giving, my ability to love, and I hold
That in my mind. Where am I going to fix my gaze? Here, right here, on my mind, my step, my heart.