To temper an obstinate and wicked
Pain that has been burrowing into me for some time
I try, now and again, to cry out piteously
To the one who, oh miserable me, preys upon my heart.
But, a disciple of desire, my voice
Is scarcely heard, and already it moans and shouts.
What a harsh refrain, and so inimical to my longings,
I am deterred from begging for mercy.
And a thought says to me: fool, do you not see
That you always receive both scorn and injury
If you throw yourself meekly at the feet of someone cruel?
Thus, in silence, I breed a poorly concealed
Affliction in my heart, which is where the seed
Of that cruel love that gives me such despair took root.
Paolina Secco-Suardo Grismondi translated from Italian by Alani Rosa Hicks-Bartlett via swwim everyday
i am a promise awake with knowing
a pull in a thread
sprawling
a sputtering
a stuttering
a slant
a song
a rising
a falling
[…]longing for the pierce of stars
tonguing the night
brushing away the darkness
til there is light
around
beneath
inside
Desire [even in the time of the tyrant], Leah Umansky
