the giver

through plants
rooted on a hillside on Ohlone land

between three oaks
surviving drought and atmospheric rivers

we
speak it into the garden
and laugh it into the soil
as we pull at dead roots
unearth shadows to breathe as we shake them loose
shake the earth from old pathways
and re-seed weeds & medicines

we
listen with our eyes
listen with our hands
listen with our fingertips
with our bodies
as we step through singing grasses
where I remember my grandfather
as we dance with brambles,
pull thistle from the soft of their stems,
taproot intact
retrieve climbing vines smothering olive trees
untangle messes, follow trailing thoughts

we
listen in milliseconds
exhale and release

we
find resolve
taste the light sweetness of small wild strawberries
lip stained, smiling

we
feel in microscopics and nuance
plant seeds of grief
cast seeds of dreams, of futures
honor the cleansing wind and rain
the anger and the fires that incite new growth

Illustration: nicole gervacio

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