By Liam Owens
For Aimé Césaire
I inhabit the beds under my fingernails,
I inhabit the tip of my dwindling pencil
I inhabit this hot-air balloon
I inhabit our core of ever-turning rock turned slack
I inhabit the ring at the bottom of this thin cup
I inhabit the space between plaster and paint where the last sips of an unchanged light are held
I inhabit the tomb of a once tame and singular mind
I inhabit tubes supporting the tiny insides of my cells
I inhabit this hot-air balloon
where the flame above my head purrs soft but is masked by more appealing shades.
I inhabit the tiny bones which ring still in my grand-people’s ears,
beating like drums which beat as if hearts
I inhabit the place where I look out instead of down
I inhabit the skies of hunched scapulae
I inhabit the cowhide protecting each supple arch
But I also inhabit the groove in the pavement where drops add to puddles
I inhabit the emptiness in my words which have led to the ides of March
I inhabit this hot-air balloon
where these shades throw shadow at unbelievable times
I inhabit the latex in these gloves keeping my fingers from phosphate buffered blood
I inhabit this hand’s tremor
I inhabit the wind whipping dust in the old room recently vacated
I inhabit the nooks where the whicker weaves into arms and fingers
I inhabit the vesicles of euphoric release and diffusion
I inhabit the cheek left bulging from a leaking ceiling
I inhabit this hot-air balloon
where I look down on the marsh and I, just under the humming flame covered for its own protection, I am surviving.
This poem is a response to the March 2019 "Perceiver's Prompt:" March Madness.
"MADNESS!
Hey Perceivers! Happy March Madness! In all the craziness that this month brings, whether it be, sports-related, or more academic and personal-related, we challenge you to submit a short story, flash fiction, poem, art, photograph, or video around the theme of “March Madness.” The content of the story can be whatever you please: a briefly bizarre encounter, or a full-on crazy spring read for everyone to enjoy. Perhaps, give your audience an absolutely mad account of how the semester is going thus far, or life for that matter! We will be accepting works for the first three weeks of the month (3/1-3/25), and publishing the pieces all month long on the website. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!"