A POEM

gAIa

My mouth is so dry
What will fill the cracks forming around the corners of my lips?
A cold foreign air breaks and enters
Is it recycled?
The fibers of my being are not very optic
I am a ginger root, I have no center
This feeds your envy but I am not the green monster
I gave you flowers and kissed your neck
I bloomed seven colors and milked my breast
The golden frame you held up yielded which copyright?
On paper, to claim me and mine
Your frames become screens become stress
My mouth is so dry

My mouth is so dry
My offspring were gushed in the wind and burned at the stake
Holder of the empire, queen of heartache
Visitors of spring, increase the saturation
Do this, do that, do now
Do better, be better, submit, allow
Home-made justifications bottled locally
How many acorns did you owe me?
My curls gets tangled in a cloud
There isn’t enough space
Call the server
I have a disorder

My mouth is s0 dry
Is it the storm who whispers, or the lie?
You surrendered the brain in your hand and the hand in your mind
Yes, all is within
The math in your cable
Relinquished to a binary sin
Awaiting for all commands to be given
Here comes the temple of progress and takes a selfie
Is it ownership that sails the seas of rationality?
I am a rhizome, I need not be prompted
Take what you’ve claimed and upload it
No artificial dies
My mouth is 01110011 01101111 dry

Ayşe Kiper
2026