The arch of my foot aches.
Soon, we’re walking through nettles, a yellow paddock,
fresh ginger packed between the gum
And tooth.
In excess, sugars become fat, a kind
of sealant. Organs bleating
On the forest floor.
A first step.
Blue radiance, paper that receives ink, coffee with cream. By day 8,
I can’t remember life
With my family.
Copyright © 2023 by Bhanu Kapil. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on June 15, 2023, by the Academy of American Poets.