after max sansing
when daddy says my head is a bird’s
nest, he means a momma bird might find it
inviting. my hair: a place to raise her first eggs,
a place her first babes might call out to her, a place
she might fly back to from the wet morning dirt, chewing
a worm in the side of her cheek, so her baby might swallow
it down easy, so her baby might fall asleep with a full stomach
and never dream of falling, so i might rise from sleep
on a Sunday morning, come downstairs dressed
for church with a head full of morning songs,
uncombed hair, hear my daddy chuckle,
search for words, and call it wild