Fragments in A Closet

Naming

I call the water over my head roof.

Now the river is home,

And drowning is an art of living.

A girl opens her mouth . . .

I walk tongue first into myself.
I call her love, and pretend she will stay.

I call my mother life, now she will live forever.

I call my father water.

I call myself wind.

Even as he leaves,

he remains the fluid part of me.

Daisy Odey