July 13, 2021

Wind Watching

 

What if Dorothy wasn’t afraid of the wind?
What if she welcomed the cyclone?

The thought of being lifted, suspended
in air as release. What if she saw

it as escape, being tossed and jolted? Maybe
a change would occur if she shook fast

enough. Maybe she liked not knowing
if her body would survive the catch and release.

Maybe being picked up and let
go in another’s chaos was freeing.

I imagine she was raptured before the light of the day
had kissed the earth. The swirl approached and she went

willingly. Threw her head and arms back,
and let it consume her.

Maybe she had been waiting to be swept off her feet
by a wild, uncontrollable thing.

Khaline Rae, Ghost in a Black Girl’s Throat (Story Line Press, 2021)

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