clear mountain

my grandmother rises a mountain
sits on a plastic blue chair in our bath
delicate thin freckled skin
softened brown against plastic eggshell walls and tub

running waters from the faucet
i fill the tabo with warmth
lift it over her shoulders to wash down in waterfalls
over her breasts, down her arms, wrinkles and belly, thighs and legs,
to wash away at the shores of her feet

we
are quiet
i am careful

she lathers over
land that has lived
a quieted volcano
eroded at her edges
sunken moments and overflows overlapping
pumping veins of raised rivers where i would trace
my fingertips instead of listening to sermons at mass on sundays

it’s beautiful to re-member
where we come from –
as i was a seed
in my mothers womb
within my grandmothers womb
swiming in the lining of memory within memories –
and that i was blessed to nurture the mountain that once nurtured me

nicole gervacio is an artist in occupied Ohlone territory, Huchiun - also known as Oakland, California. they are inspired by bodies, memory, permanence versus impermanence, are driven by a fear of forgetting, and navigate with ancestors and future generations. nicolegervacio.com

the giver