Ada Limón

I’d choose the moon, always the sister moon.

Cold, comely queen of the sky.

Before, the only thing I was interested in was love, how it grips you, how it terrifies you, how it annihilates and resuscitates you. I didn’t know then that it wasn’t even love that I was interested in but my own suffering. I thought suffering kept things interesting. How funny that I called it love and the whole time it was pain.

but some days I can see the point

in growing something, even if

it’s just to say I cared enough.

We are the weeds.

I plant three seeds

As a spell.

My god,

I thought, my whole life I’ve been under her

raincoat thinking it was somehow a marvel

that I never got wet.

I say something

to myself that’s between a prayer and a curse—how dare we live

on this earth

THE VULTURE & THE BODY

What if, instead of carrying

a child, I am supposed to carry grief?

We do what we have

to do to not cleave the body too quickly.