1 poem by Sasha Geffen

Amnion

 

like other feelings freedom happens in the feet   

hermes wore his wings there     instead

of the obvious ridge on the spine     birds are dinosaurs

not angels    though both are famous for being dead     both scream

far away from human ears     I carve my hair like a topiary

as it dies out of my scalp     in a parallel life it’s long enough

to cocoon a baby     on a meteor     somewhere

my mane is full of baby    a husband’s eyes

pucker in it    like soda drops on a drum   

a frog doesn’t know what she’s guarding

from crowding wasps    until her daughters leap

into the marsh    empty of thought except

that birth    is the opposite of venom    beading

on black thorns     does the first breath hurt    can anyone

remember      if it hurts