to sing

before language --

an utterance

a warble, a chirp

diaphragm, rib cage, lungs, 

the oral cavity, 

the cords 

snapping open and closed

the stuff of history, epics, ballad, prayer

of rock n' roll

a bleary campfire coda

take one big belly breath in --

spiral shell

i reach down

grabby fingers

to pickup a perfect collectable

pearly in the salt sun

body-protector

think, a mollusk --

snails, clams, oysters

secreting layers of

exoskeleton, 

protein and mineral

building from the bottom up 

and at the margins 

i am a taker

don't think to ask permission

because i want 

your godly geometry

2022

this year 

i will 

walk 

in a spiral 

not a line