from How To Wash A Heart
I was born feet-first beneath a Lebanon cedar
At 10:23 a.m.
On a November morning
So long ago
That many people who were alive that day,
Flinching from a sudden rain,
No longer walk upon this earth.
I am going to take you by surprise.
I am going to make you
So proud of me.
When you watch my plays, your heart
Will make a circuit with the dense shadow
In the upper part of the atmosphere.
The clouds
Will rain green frogs
The size of fingernails
And we will scoop them up
With our hands.
Sometimes I lie on the earth face down
To connect
With its copper plate.
You won't have to love me
For very long.
_____________________
Bhanu Kapil
How To Wash A Heart
Liverpool University Press, 2023
