Anti-Personification – Jay Dye
The curve of each tree
is a record of wind
and sun, a memory of
what the Earth said.
Each river winds the same,
encoding memory in erosion,
creation in destruction.
In this way, things
are already books
without language.
I am a dust storm of a thousand
thousand particles. I am suspended
in air, I float on a current of sunbeams,
I am always falling down and violent.
And I coat things in myself too. I leave
little pieces of my body on everything.
I am like water. I change shape,
but I am unique in this: I remember.
Time flows like wood
around my skin; the oars
grow difficult.
Night closes in
and the Earth is dying.
Sickly smell in the air
like a rotting mango,
musty yet sweet.
Here is a battle:
sweat, heat, and firepower
against the setting sun.
Things only fall down
because they want to.
Do you remember being born?
Jay Dye is a poet, artist, and MFA student. She has been published in literary journals including Calliope, Sapere Aude, and Scribendi. More of her work can be found online at jaydye.org.
