I Am Care

‘I have no choice or I have a choice but it is not a choice’

I am part of a battalion of women

who march trance like into cross roads

while traffic is moving

creep into coal seams

sit by unmarked graves

sweep the dust

conceal the stains

in the river I sit naked

clear water laps my ankles

I pull my dress skirt up

cover my face

my voice is speechless

I drop one foot from concrete onto glass

I fall in a diagonal line

when I pick myself up

petals fall

the moon descends

as the last chorister sings

high notes scald the sky

my silk robe hangs

from my bleached frame

my pain is clutched in my fist

I measure out my frame

in fingers and thumbs

I twist tissues into tourniquets

I tell myself lies

I drift under street lights

in a…