Welcome to EgyptI touch your pregnant bellyI feel it moving
worn land bearing downfish push back, pushing air —cars tap tap their horns
feeling through trafficlike near-blind men with white canesthe extra sense helps
partly it’s motionwhatever’s in the waterwriggling to the top
& partly it’s new developments make the newspushing at a wall

 

till the wall crumplesthen it’s all about a trainlooping figure-eights
the heart, that core hubof the line’s crossing itselfblood surging urgent
through the body’s marshthe body’s million membranes& then what cells do –
to touch your bellytightened with transformation:go back to start over
express or localswooping to end or dawdlingseeming to dawdle
to note hibiscusrows of them, blooming, to seeclothes drying on chairs
the chairs echoingarchitecture, the buildingsechoing the land

 

starting to open —an abundance of fishes —nervous, humorous —
choosing to revealas the light diminishesit’s not choice alone
sometimes machines breakpregnancies may fail, but hopeI’m studying hope
making promisesto discover the reasonsthere is hearing here
I’m fond of voicesnews may take time to reach usvoices aren’t stopping