Babel

Ancient woman, she was one tongue,

one speech, one spoken

on this earth one language

building towers that scraped

sky.

She could be

do

anything

imagined universes

spinning on her fingers

she was the dream outside the first words

border/boundary/death.

We were scattered across deserts and oceans,

mountains, and islands.

We found them homes.

Called them babel,

Words, tongues, speaking we could hear them

Can we hear them

spoken

speaking

when they are screaming themselves

silent?

Taproot branching

we are the speaking

deciphering cryptic time these are line

histories. Forgetting in optic cables and nano

digits copper, where are we! Can we

map out tacks on a timeline?

Is this geography? Is this geology? See

the sediment layers, can we dig to the first word?

Buried in cultural pre-tend hidden beneath

they could not see us past assuming.

we would be/could be

better off because we be

less than they be big men making big

plans with islands they can’t believe

we found

all

by ourselves.

accidental Mapping they called it

that way they could say

we didn’t deserve

to keep it.

Ancient woman, our one tongue she said

here are our stories.

how many ways can we say ocean going on

forever, she said

how many ways can we say water

how many ways

can we say sand

how many

ways can we say waves

bringing us

memories surfacing beautiful

breath breaking.

Here are our ribs broken back bones

we were spread blood eagle against

a story back drop history

she has no

moral compass, ancient woman

one tongue, she

said

ocean

she said water

she said sand

she said waves she said bones she said how many ways

can you say this

is home.