Two Poems

BY ALYEA PIERCE

28 Days

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Return

On her first morning 
back in this village
her mind is empty
and bones numb to the smell of heat

She tells her body 
to unbind itself into loose change
and bury high-tide shoulders 
back into its place

Reminds lungs to exhale
and knees to bend but
the sun weighs a mountain today.
So, she rests

like a starfish floating on the sea’s bed
stretching every ounce of her limbs to taste 
thankfulness in this sunrise.
She reminds herself:

      ??????I am not 
      ??????a chair with its legs kicked out,
      ??????someone’s favorite mug 
      ??????broken and swept under the living room rug.

      ??????This body is a forest of stretch marks,
      ??????dreams and regrets.
      ??????I am stretching
      ??????and I can no longer fit within this poem.
      ??????I have gotten lost within these woods before.
      ??????and followed the carvings in my skin back home.
      ??????Back to me.

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Alyea Pierce is a Fulbright-National Geographic Fellow & Explorer, educator, and poet. Pierce has performed her spoken word poetry internationally from the UK to South Africa and at numerous TEDx events. Her work has been published online and in print, including The Guardian, New York Daily News, Caribbean Writer, Autism Speaks, to name a few. As an educator, her mission is to help students transform creative ideas into professional voices, empowering diverse learners to be leaders within their own communities.

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Image Credit: Nika Akin