Mikvah

Monthly I must snort the universe
 
            or seduce a hummingbird
 
 betrothed to a ladybird
 
 acclaimed for her art
 
            a sculptor with clay on her pants
 
 (ugly pants)
 
 don’t you understand
 
            I will not go to G_d
 
 for milk again.
 
            Wreck your nest
 
 turn red
 
 make me goddamn seafood soup, bird
 
            cook intimately with clams
 
 on counter and blood on wall
 
 spoon me up
 
            that ocean broth
 
 I must be rid of this medusa feeling
 
            or else
 
 feel my forehead
 
 say not so scarlet
 
            not so evil
 
 and flannel nightclothes
 
 will grow backwards
 
            over my arms
 
 an arm-based piety.