“please call me by my true name so i can wake up,”*

i’m a whore i’m a bitch
there’s a whole lot more words
i’m a goddess i’m a Saint
that will break your back

the monks named me Daya
the compassionate one
this compassion breaks my heart daily
a homeless cat
a homeless dog
the homeless
the homelessness

it’s raining today
tears from the sky
bring the maudlin out of me

bring on the sun
sun rays to pierce the heart
this cycle, of recycling
again and again

rain falling
on pink petals
into the ground
a final burial
for my unborn child

genie nakano, 1 .14 .23

*Thich Nhat Hanh