25. climb up on my shoulders

climb up on my shoulders
crouch, i bend my knees, hands 
out, ready for mass, ready for
carry, climb up on my
spine, crooked, wavering a symptom
of how damn hard i try 
weight, just a minute, rain
down, over brows into sight
despite glasses, clarity isn't ready
for commitment, glass fogs in bad
weather, you like it or not 
hot, bury my body, tuck
the soil in close to my thighs
hide the collarbone, the breasts, the
danger to myself, at night
the princess is always left to defend
her own castle, second wind flattens 
cattails before girls
unready to die, quiet
into the eye of a hurricane 
named after me, see how the tops
of all the trees sway in the breeze
i breathe?

nyc poetry festival, governor's island