East of Anywhere

East of anywhere will bring you here,

to the hut of the woman with obsidian eyes;

whose lived for ten thousand years--

looking.

Her words come and go with the eddies that tangle the grasses;

all around her there is space

for breathing in

and out again; for dancing and being still.

East of anywhere she builds her fire to guide you with its billows

and she cackles with the embers

until they hiss in the dark.

Her voice is thin and when she calls

gets caught in the clapping leaves

or drowns in the sound of your body—

its beating and humming.

East of anywhere she will be waiting for you to notice her

hiding in the trees and curling in the water.

East of anywhere she will be

if you let her. If you look.

Laura Catapano

Ithaca, NY



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