“There’s always a lot to do before you get to go to heaven.”
— Octavia Butler, Parable of the Sower

when the sun sets pink, orange, and red
broken moving clouds spread
like velvet like compulsion
action stretches idle smooth
reading read is different from hearing read spoken
or why I adore hiding words in my throat
formerly private as guilt
what came first
sky
or water
altered
like states of being with
or without you
regenerative loops: believing in a tomorrow