"i can figure out forever,"
she said.

she said,
"the world can march
in numbers down
the palm of my hand,
and you gods
can come to me for
prayers."

she pressed her feet
against the window,
leaving prints within
without.

she pressed her chest against
his chest she
hid her better sounds
in his neck,
she spit away the blood
and swallowed the future.

"i'm a queen,"
she said.

"i'm a woman,"
she said.

"i'm born,"
he said.