laveau’s sojourn

hear me loosen from the alabaster

crosses     all    lose      grounding

             feathers from the cock

                          craft delicate flakes not of snow

no more bus tours

no more trampling over my charms

above ground under water I am calcium

milky spirals in ruby mud and splinter

I can rest now

with plastic and cinderblock

the markings are bloated                    inscribed with a telling mood

black is my conjure blues

what could my spells do now?

the rattle is drifting between a roof and a river

my handsome messengers float head down in fashionable white

all this

            good for my sleep

            I’ve not slept for a very long time

how un/peaceful these gates were

the levees lost  purpose

my neighbors some                  were  without a stone                    anyway

you’ve given enough coins

no more flowers now

leave no single note for your heart doting and twinge                                   

jot not another cross               please

these pores are filled

too cemented with wants and reprisal

                                                     when the water             subsides

                                                     my prayer will have bosomed

the freshness of cholera   and myth                goes further                            

I can rest