Surrounded by black, her back to the floor, 

Eyes where seeds of mothballs grow to the sun, 

She is the carpet’s present, it wraps her in kudzu, 

Wanting to slice the vines, but the green leaves tighten, 

A comforting blanket, a slave’s chain indeed 

 

Spinning her head as the stem coils her neck, 

Buried alive, suffocating in rich brown soil 

Her spirit will grow back as another ugly weed

Another wilted plant, ready to steal nourishment 

Suddenly, she remembers a different knot onced tied:

 

Just wed, man and wife glide along a paper lake, 

The sun reflects its face on a liquid mirror, 

They write cursive letters with her feet, form numbers, 

His body entwined with the song Nature hums at dawn, 

I weep at such beauty, I envy such elegance 

 

Eyes opened, I am greeted with actuality, 

I am their four arms and legs, 

The spark, the electricity, the freedom that flows, 

When humanity erases the contract, 

We we were too young to sign 

 

I heat a rock with the fire burning inside me 

Kudzu turns to kettle, screaming at the inferno 

I am past ready for him to evaporate away 

And as he does, I put one foot out the gate 

 

The fire, the hunger boils my blood, 

Outside, flames caress my skin with heat, 

Waning and warming the darkness, 

That sought sanctuary in my body 

 

I am free.