pure

put light there 
keep the tonic pure 

my body belongs to me again 

i severed the agreement 

i emerge 
bones, strong 
and limber, so limber 

i see myself now 
in the clean reflection 
smell of seawater and wildflowers 
my locs, a dark, dark brown 
my hands and feet, capable and wide 

i am new 
beautiful, essential 
in the morning 
see everything shine 

This work was originally published in Beneath the Soil Volume iii, a collaborative zine featuring artwork from queer survivors of sexual violence