My body is a white taper burning toward a black sky
Where my exuberance bubbles out and spills over
Yet never dampens that darker flame —

Mother, I give you my girlhood as the ultimate mortification
Of the flesh — girlhood as the neverending tunnel still deeper
And doorless.

Mother, put your mouth to my wound and feel its vibration!
Smell this odorous yellow that still stains my skin!

Mother, meaning-maker make meaning of my suffering
The futility of my love towards my lover and my pain
Without translation yet redolent with language.

Take my body back into your body mother-of-unmaking
You who kept your eyes open while they butchered your baby,
As God turned away from the death of his child.