On love (xxxvi)
the place where winter is made
the Tundra
barren land longing like
Savannah
Atanarjuat striking then bounding
barefoot in snow
for days
the Grassland Biome of the cradle of humankind
7 degree nights over months
brick houses and shacks bereft of
insulation
the eve of the end of a
cycle
forests drawn
beings upon beings displaced disoriented
foraging nothing but foraging
manifold forms
unmade is winter in
the streets closed for the marathon
what we don’t do
with the last matchbox
Salimah Valiani’s newest collections, 29 leads to love (Inanna Publications), and Love Pandemic (Daraja Press) will be released at the beginning winter or summer — depending on where you are.