love lightly

i.

grow

This silkily numinous summer
I shall allow my hair to grow
past my reassured shoulder blades—

I have left my qualms upon the sand
like a load, like a camel sinking
to its knees after a long voyage in the sun.

The sea lapped at my feet,
such a deserving kiss,
for I have walked miles

on pathways of turmoil
and rested only momentarily
on driftwoods of hopeful questions

that soon succumbed to a river's upsurge
and split in half, drowning
in the heavy stream of thoughts.

Life does not occur
in the habitation of the psyche,
in the seclusion of the self

and so this silkily numinous summer,
I shall allow my hair to tickle
the dimples, the vessels of water

upon the small of my back;
in the shade of the palm trees,
I shall oil my scalp free of questions.

The sea foam has washed them away,
guided by the dewy hand of God.
The uncertainties have disintegrated

underneath resplendent pebbles,
brothers of rainbow,
warmed by the breath of the sun.

My hair shall be
my covering and my glory,
kissed by God.

I will punish them not
in heartache
but comb them,

soak them in seawater
and braid them loosely
as I prepare my prayers,

as I devote my heart
and its stories about
Turkish men, language barriers,

oranges, the glimmer
of the sea and the softness
of my skin to Jesus.

There are answers
in human senses, faith in God,
in gentleness and kindness.

All of it matters,
all of it moves me,
all of it nourishes me,

even if it lasts as long
as a sunset bending
to caress the head of the seawater,

even if it takes a lot of time
like the migration of birds,
the formulation of cosiness.

All of it matters,
all of it moves me,
all of it nourishes me.

My heart still gets touched,
my voice still gets heard
and my hair, in its serenity, grows.

࿐