Elder of Swords (Reversed)

double blade
by Ania Szado

we called the ripper
jack – hooked blade, red
shaft – as we snapped
seams. the point seeding

shame as knowledge
grew. elder. child. two sides,
one sword. if the sage says

this way, that word,
set your spine, pin
butterflies, uncurve the moon –

wait. take the steel
from your throat. sharpen
its edge & carve your name
into your knowings. uncrook
the thread of your seamless
breath.

Ania Szado (she/her) is the author of two novels, Beginning of Was and the national bestseller Studio Saint-Ex. She recently relocated from Toronto to live alongside a river near the north shore of Lake Erie.