Stilling Season

by samaa abdurraqib

“And what a celebration

when we realize that our survival

need not make us into monsters”

—Alexis Pauline Gumbs

Softness, like honey

catching the light and spreading

out to fill the spoon

is all that’s needed.

Spread on before bandaging

and singing sweet songs.

Or dropped down into

throats ravaged by sand. Salve for

a ululation.

Softness, like honey

slow stirred into the fissures,

holding the two halves

is what this moment

asks for. A time of sweetness.

Radiant amber.