The gauzy beds of the worms
slung between trees
where moths grow and sleep
remind you of the hammock
you slept in then fell from
wind knocked
out of you
as you looked up through
green to blue
Ghost room:
breath forced
from lungs
you tried to fly away
but couldn’t move
and never breathed
a word to anyone
Mute worms stir,
beginning to form wings
Soon they will emerge on moth feet
and speak through practical flight

Kimberly L. Becker is author of Words Facing East; The Dividings (WordTech Editions), and Flight (forthcoming, MadHat Press). Her poems appear in journals and anthologies such as Bloodletters, Drunken Boat, Indigenous Message on Water, Women Write Resistance: Poets Resist Gender Violence, Tending the Fire: Native Voices and Portraits, and Bared. Grants and residencies include The Regional Artist Project of Northwest NC and Wildacres Residency Program. Kimberly has read at venues from The National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, to Wordfest. She has served as mentor for PEN America's Prison Writing Program and AWP's Writer to Writer. Find her at www.kimberlylbecker.com.