EXCERPT

in this story
there was a stream
running bright and green
through meadows of lilies
the boys tried to dam her
they plunged
their hands into her
lugged stones from her shore    
hurled them into her mouth                         
she shrank like winter rock        
unable to recall
the names of the white flowers
that used to grow at her banks       
she opened like a wound
tears tumbled in a whirl         
of bruised blooms     
but when the rains came
she filled until     she brimmed with bright water      
remembering her strength                                   
she collected in the shallows       bursting through the stones
that could no longer hold her         

ABOUT THE POET

Sayuri Matsuura Ayers is a Chinese Japanese American poet and nonfiction writer. Her poetry and essays interweave Chinese and Japanese mythology with history and personal experience to uplift the voices of her female ancestors. A Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net Nominee, Ayers has been supported by Yaddo, the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, The Greater Columbus Arts Council, and The Ohio Arts Council. She lives with her husband and son in Columbus, Ohio.

Notes

Work from this book originally appeared in Parenthesis and CALYX.

OTHER BOOKS

The Maiden in the Moon (Porkbelly Press, 2023)
Mother/Wound (Full/Crescent Press)
Radish Legs, Duck Feet (Green Bottle Press)