A Testimonials Journey

~Deana J. Tavares

Her words they clung

Onto broccoli

Grains of rice

Spiraled back down

To where they started

Oh, dearly departed

 

Within chunks of meat

Theirs festered

Eliminated

Overtaken by maggots

Ingested again

Festered

Again

Feeding the vulture

Trapped within talons

Of a silent, culture

 

Sealed lips

Throughout generations

Big

Bright

Blurred eyes

Innocence

Taken

By surprise

Keep your mouth shut

A word

To the wise

Those falsely labeled

Signifying monkeys

They

CAN

Fly

 

For days

For years

Decades

They churned

Words swarmed

Through her organs

One thousand

Stinging bees

Oh, the burn

 

Words sloshed

Through veins

Tucked away in

Pains

Tendon

And bone

Shaken from dreams

Images repeatedly

Cloned

 

Vowels

Climbed back up

Clawed

They scratched

Gall bladder foot holds

Upon kidneys

They latched

Trembled

Yet still

Held on

Their journey

Dauntingly long

 

Acidic misted

Syllables

Overtaken again

Cartilage entangled

Lyrical fingernails

Jagged

Mangled

 

One more push

Through the inflamed

Tender center

The core

That narrative

Not just hers

Anymore

 

Open your ears

Hear

The sorrow-filled sounds

Raise her up

This time

Don’t let her drown

 

That empty

Bile-filled hole of

Instant release

Oh dear, beautiful survivor

I DO BELIEVE!

© 2018