long before the mention of
nine tapestries  chained linking
long before the draconian

let me see who,  what you are –

are you winged or serpentine?

who survives this town’s gulag
whole-life leg,  of internment?

how to love avarice signs
left hand tracing more hydras?

blue uktena of your dreams

unwieldy,  unhandy lines
not so long ago
long before first light and snow

long before the stopping rain