XVI. The Tower (Reversed)

untitled
by Jenna Vélez

and i am a tumble
stonewalled and cracked bone
the clumsiest of hearts

i am a freefall
from the mouth of trusted stork
and the arms of lovers
slippery limbs and buttered palms

we jump without hesitation
for all we know is burning
let my blood seep into the earth
an escape in the name
of rapunzel’s burnt tresses

i am a winged psychopomp
carrying souls i’ve sold mine for
ready to meet our maker

Jenna Vélez (she/her) is an emerging queer Latinx poet from suburban Philly. Her work has been featured in over a dozen literary spaces. Her debut microchap The Whore Madonna Leads the Black Mass is available for free download at Maverick Duck Press. Her book Bloody Spirit & Bathroom Ritual was published in June 2020 with Bone & Ink Press.