I will never grow gardenias.
The tropics are a world I’ve lost.
Not one of these cities is home,
not even at new year,
crackers popping like kindling.
No cradle tongue.
Any river or gully,
prayer for a conjuring on water that made you.
Impossible to sleep in the same city twice.
They say the channel is poison,
so I drink every drop.
Any Saint as Patron
Kali is a writer and poet from New York. Previous credits include Construction, JMWW, and Q/A.