the softest of palms

Avian! Good to see you here!

i yearn for soft palms,
sometimes. and i say sometimes
like i don't mean all the time, like
i don't mean i want someone else
to cradle me whilst i sit in lethargy,
all curled limbs and slack-jawed.

What an opening - with great tension between wanting / not quite committing to wanting - there's a hesitancy to the yearning.

I found your two religious / prayer-poems to be very striking too as a religious person myself - I think people are often hesitant to write about the struggled sides of faith and I admire folks who are able to explore that, as I do not think that doubt and faith are mutually-exclusive. It goes with the "palms" theme unexpectedly too - the hands folded in prayer hesitantly, or with shame or frustration or doubt underneath it all.

Love love love these two lines too ->

the earth split & crumbling with a stampede
not yet passed, hooves sharp against my sides,

Gosh is that gorgeously phrased - perfect sound devices too - and I can see the horses emerging from the core of the earth / person!

Thanks for sharing your poetry this month, I look forward to reading more! <3