moss between my fingernails following birth-
marks on cracked bark un-nested bugs crawling
to breathe into her mouth-less-
ness melting into cheeks trickling
down when my magnolia turns
blue i ponder
and mend forget-me-nots
soft pastries my mother used to make
that i stuff inside her favourite branch hush-
ing myself into the woods chasing brooks with sticker-charms
and sweaty-palms remem-ber bleeding onto
your best friend’s neighbour’s porch after mass
re-member colourful animals she gave you
sacrificial remember flying two streets
across your child-ish town
and hoping to see her
again-just-once
Words by Ayna Li Taira, Artwork by Peng Yao.
