After Costa Rica
When we come back from that lushness —
where sloths curl their algaed fur
into the crooks of trees
monkeys make off with snack-bar papaya
and parrots pass overhead
in technicolor twos
their rainbowed bodies bent
on making more rainbowed bodies —
then we return to my bed
to the soft animal in each other
the upturned arrow of desire
iguana-thick in my mouth
your fingers milking sweet
nectar in the dark
the untamed we coax
with tongue and skin
makes the years
fall away
in an empty chrysalis
until at last I become
the Blue Morpho:
I flex and iridesce lapis wings
pulse pure light I become
a universe exploding
the jungle that screams
I am I am I am
in every animal language
when first light
slashes open
a new day
Beeper Peddle is a writer and healer living on the East Coast. She lives with her partner and their beloved soul puppy. Beeper writes about sorrows, lies, and deep loves. When you read her work, you will dip down into her heart and end up in all manner of body parts. Should you find yourself reflected in these words, it is merely coincidence; however, it does not surprise her you share the same heart. Find her at bethpeddle.com and @beeperpeddle on Twitter and Instagram
Wendy Kagan (she/her) lives in New York’s Catskill mountain foothills and takes her two teen girls on faraway adventures whenever she gets a chance. Wendy holds an MA in English from Columbia University. Her poems have appeared in ONE ART, The Poetry Distillery, The Baffler, and elsewhere, and her chapbook Blood Moon Aria was long-listed for the Yellow Arrow Publishing 2024 chapbook competition.
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