Kabuya - created by Sarah Kavage and Adria Garcia

For our Mother

In golden light she freely yields                      

to hands that stroke and tenderly coax,        

fair-haired strands into cornrow braids.       

(I can still hear her sigh,                     

                         her moans of delight).                                    

Lie down here and rest against her warmth,            

this place where cottonwoods whisper       

and poplars reply, with waves lapping beyond.       

(I can still hear her sigh,

her moans of delight).

Lulled by this stillness spoon closer in                      

 to the cadence and beat of her heart.           

Cradled here, yield, to the warmth, to the field.         

(I can still hear her sigh,

her moans of delight).

Catherine Haynes