Blossom by Dorianne Laux
What is a wound but a flower
dying on its descent to the earth,
bag of scent filled with war, forest,
torches, some trouble that befell
now over and done. A wound is a fire
sinking into itself. The tinder serves
only so long, the log holds on
and still it gives up, collapses
into its bed of ashes and sand. I burned
my hand cooking over a low flame,
that flame now alive under my skin,
the smell not unpleasant, the wound
beautiful as a full-blown peony.
Say goodbye to disaster. Shake hands
with the unknown, what becomes
of us once we’ve been torn apart
and returned to our future, naked
and small, sewn back together
scar by scar. Art by Armin Boehm Recommended listening: Grid of Points - Grouper Boyish - Japanese Breakfast Links of the Day: How much is a word worth? Joymaker: Caroline South + Aesthetics of Joy in general The 16,000 Artworks the Nazis Censored and Labeled “Degenerate Art”