i once was a witch

Kiik Araki-Kawaguchi

For Joanna Ruocco

I once was a witch / I ate sticks

I bit everything / Down to its bones

The creations who wore their bones / On their outsides

Shrimps and dragonflies / And coconuts

I kissed their bones / Then I ate them down to the mush

I liked eating so much / Life is a record of a world through the mouth

I ripped open the flesh of the moth / I pulled out the flame

They carry a little flame inside they do / To say their name takes a little fire

Rub this little name to life / Remove my name I grow lighter

I lost 166 lbs / Good gravy

I once was gravy / Every child stuck a stick in me

I was smothered in name only / Fire held like a blanket upon me