MOST MAGIC COMES SECONDHAND

RENEE CHRISTOPHER

             sit with legs pressed tight
together
thighs
                         see      -sawing
             against
             each other
                         aching
to blossom
to be a lady
             my mother said
                         is all about knowing
                                                  where to hide
she said her grandmother
                                                              not so long ago
told her
             to keep the gods
             always close
                                     not Jesus
                                                 the gods
from home
I wish I knew
                         my grandmother and
                                                                          what she meant
             by telling
                         my mother
                                                 sugar cane knows
the meaning
             of silence                                             by the edge
                                                                         of the water
and why
when she stored
                         a split plum seed
                                     between her legs
                                                               said the earth
                         will tell            all your secrets

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