by Sara Backer
Everything I respect begins
with porcupine and skunk.
I must defend myself.
Everything I value begins
with a brook:
buoyancy and rhythm.
Every piece of sky I breathe
has been touched by wings
of wasps and phoebes.
I’m learning how to breathe.
I hold my breath like sunshine
locked in ice.
Everything I think begins
with granite and mica.
I peel silver layers.
Published in my chapbook Bicycle Lotus