ideogram

begin with
shapes: the cup, the pillar, the open hand
and henna-stained
my painted body, spirals and arrows
my mouth
a brush stroke on smooth skin
the parchment sheets on which
our limbs become the glyphs
for life, for bird
on which we shape each ideogram
: lake, thunder, joy

we make the runes
we draw symbols of each other
with our hands and tongues
I curl
myself into your body
You trace
an alphabet on my lips
and from root to outstretched fingers
we are a bindrune
a spell made of our woven bones
written on mirrors, painted with our breath

spoken, it is
beyond translation
each word
requires three mouths to pronounce
sung, it is
the hollow flute,
the hum of indigo, the chant of serpents
in the spine