as i prepare myself
for the wonderful inevitability of teaching
in
australia
this march,
i'm spinning and weaving and dyeing and
writing
and getting this brain
(so often addled by teenaged emotional turmoil
and the fallout
present in public school)
i return to my heart work
and of course, keep reading.
how in photographs these things look like the skin
that paper makes
flax and milkweed, for example,
to work on,
to wear for protection.
and walking slows this mind down
to consider these things
to see
up close how beautiful these skins are
here, the blue skin of atmosphere
the red skin of berry
the hidden sinews
of milkweed
twined into threads to weave
weave a skin to keep warm and safe.