when it comes up
it’s like bile
or a slithering snake
made out of black tar,
and the pressure
inundates my cells
and the air becomes thick
***
only love can overpower
shame, grief; dense burden
maybe those things are love
contracted, constricted
dying to be seen, heard,
worshipped
***
it takes a special kind
of person to hold space
for the ugliness
to be the earth
***
to be the earth