Roy Zhu
we start as the book of changes,
two to four to eight, elemental
signs in the warm red center
of our mother’s body. rising
from the dark, we find ourselves.
our breath, a long sort of whole,
divides into a pulse. we distinguish
quick and slow, empty and full.
isn’t it miraculous? life is change,
and we are each a changing kind
of witness, one to another. to see
as myself, i hold my breath and feel
all else dig in or brush past me.
when i must heal my mind, i try
to feel these things: dawn breaking,
the edge of the earth receiving
the sun. the heat from the earth,
heat emerging like an animal
from beneath my skin. like a planet,
my body contains many living things,
turning in a motion that remembers
generations. my tears and laughter
call my family to fill my orbit
with infinite fullness. i am a planet
held in the great circle of all that
i love. this is my healing, my spirit
my way home.
Roy Zhu is a sophomore English and Environmental Science major who grew up in Greater Boston! His favorite poet at the moment is Rumi and lately he has been listening to Victoria Monét, Rico Nasty, and Kali Uchis.
