Sky and Earth

Magdalena Acuna
No blemishes in the sky today, pure blue, blind eyes.
I’m washing mud off my brothers ribcage with a garden hose,

Gold earrings, painted knuckles, marbled eyes
Cataract iris, sharp elbows,

I buried the bad in the backyard, weeded among the bluebells.
There are chunks of grief under unturned stones,
And, I forget myself in an overgrown field.

Again, I wash,
Un-caking earth from your hollowed chest,
A concave hole where your organs lie.

This love can't be swallowed.
It drags behind you like a wedding veil, 
Church masses croon, letting grieving heads finally wear down.

What are you?
Where have you been?
All this time.