In ieiunio et fletu [after Thomas Tallis]
Salve wanderer—

salve great worshipping riddle
we rebuke in digression,

we must rethink ourselves—

readjust our pelvic muscles,
sew shut the public lips,
the rose-colored inflammation of our
desire for you,
we must pour iron into our wombs,

never feel touch

never feel the stretch of our bodies
opening wider in creation,

a woman
is the closest thing to a god
you will ever touch,

but nolimetangere
for brides of circumstance
we are.

*Salve – Roman greeting meaning 'hello'
*Nolimetangere – 'touch me not'