"Sycorax, Conceiving"

In honor of National Poetry Month, here is my poem "Sycorax, Conceiving":


Sycorax, Conceiving

The Raven, Deceiver, Controller of the moon,
banished to this island of guano, spores, and worms—
at first sign of deluge, she rushes to the rain,
lowers down to sodden ground, buttocks sliding in warm lichen, loam,
takes into her the fetid water of swamps, algae, slime,
twigs, rocks, lava, the core, the magnetic field.
A flash and clap, electric air compresses around her, sizzling,
a dark spark jolts her womb, chains of protein wake, spin,
flagellate protozoa, mutant mitosis, splitting, swelling,
little hands, a head, a tail, spinning, kicking
in this viscous, amniotic storm,
her beloved baby boy, scaled, pustuled,
heir to her kingdom, this island of mud.

© JEF 2014