Elixir of Earth, incomparable color in tracery of veins plumped blue, arteries secreted deep beneath striations of muscle, pulsing to the dance of heart. How tenacious your stains giving rise to folk wisdom—lemon juice, sun, cold water, peroxide, chemical inculcations to rid us of your residuals, the dirt of your iron. Your rivers carry miracles, anoint us in birth and death, oh holy of holies. Give to us this day oxygen.
Celia Turner is a Loveland published poet in Northern Colorado Writers annual anthology, Poetry Potion and winner of the 2020 Denver Women’s Press Club Unknown Writer’s Contest. She regularly studies poetry, takes workshops and classes. The Grind online practice of a daily poem submitted to a random participating group each month has been a boon. Poetry for her is an ongoing intimate conversation she continues to have with strangers.