Rebel Girls by Leila Castle
(Cover engraving by the author)
SACRIFICE
Breasts
full
nipples
hard
I dream of
milk spraying
from them
last night
I want to
go to the
Grandmothers
with this
one
the circle
of
Grandmothers
with their
wise
lined faces
and bellies
that have
known
birth and
death
the
Grandmothers
who have
known
love and
sorrow
I come to
you
Make me
wise
Share your
wisdom
with me now
Take me to
the island
of
priestesses
Strip me naked.
HUMMINGBIRD
The tiny
feathered being
in my hands
the
tiny feathered being
so soft the
iridescent feathers shining
I want to
offer it
to
offer it with prayers
its joyous
spirit
soft in my
hands as I walk to the stupa
to Rinpoche
wearing a cowboy hat
when I
realize
to
offer this
soft-feathered
nectar loving being
is to offer
liberation to all beings
as the
hummingbird flies
tweetering
into the sky over the stupa
I’m
laughing