lazy safety

by Brianna Cunliffe

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languish in a contentment that pries vigilance from my bones—

amethyst afternoon, wayside nectar on the road’s soft shoulder

dance a full hay, gulp down bygones

let every relic rust, every gear clatter into

alignment with the grit

and pothole by which I am bound upward

lilypad snarl, wrestling with the lawn

unraveling abstraction with the scythe of the moon

stitch by stitch.

tenderness riots up within me

in that little laboratory of morning wonder, in that

raised bed full of radiant weeds I

correct myself when I begin to lie

water heater croons on in rhythm with orgasm

suds clean knees made mosaic

in august moss pews,

breathless at existence’s lace

a pleasure torn

entirely

out of my hands

---

Brianna Cunliffe is an environmental justice activist and storyteller. As a queer woman who grew up on a disintegrating Carolina coastline, her work is animated by fierce love of the fragile places we call home. She’s a Best of the Net nominated poet with work published in Revolute, Reckoning Magazine, Lucent Dreaming, Storm Cellar, Claw and Blossom, Blind Corner, and more, and you can find her on Twitter @BriannaCunliffe.