luam, new york
The flies, six
in a metallic pile, identical
green, identical
bristle & gaud.
To see so clearly
the science
in their suits.
And yesterday, the woman
asking, Are you twins?
My sister & I, whose
mothers are different,
whose years are.
From a distance,
are we, species by species,
identical? Each other.
Our needs & moving. Dear Fly,
my Other Life out
splintering, involved
in the evolution:
we are like siblings,
you & I, separated
by many years, & rooms.
Credit
Aracelis Girmay, "luam, new york" from The Black Maria. Copyright © 2016 by Aracelis Girmay. Used by permission of BOA Editions, Ltd., www.boaeditions.org.
Author
Aracelis Girmay

Aracelis Girmay's most recent book is the black maria (BOA, 2016). The recipient of a 2015 Whiting Award for poetry, she is the Writer-in-Residence at Pratt Institute and lives in Brooklyn.
Date Published: 2016-04-01
Source URL: https://poets.org/poem/luam-new-york