Bone Carrier
by: Kristy Seblonka

From the ocean our mother
I swallowed air and became human.
I carry bones in the pockets of my flesh.

Still wet with memory
I shout as we fall in two
I am named a citizen;
she becomes the ground beneath my feet.

By border, our skin is thickened:
You are the enemy -
or the innocent.
Unearthed.
All of us captive in a dried up State,
claiming to be free.

We bury each other's bones in the ground
pace over what we forgot
we were given to hold to stand upright.

Lay down your borders, companion:
Exhale, re-earth.
We both have bones to offer.

I form ribs from yours, born deep
within our mother.
I hold them like children
deep beneath my skin.