Poem by Jourdan Imani Keith | IN THE MIDNIGHT OF SURVIVAL: Nocturne for J,K, and L pod

 N THE MIDNIGHT OF SURVIVAL: Nocturne for J,K, and L pod

Every story has a scent that only some can smell

           Salmon in the cedar 

           Salt in midair 

           Waters curved shoulder 

           Algae brown in the sun

all we   fighting our way home
Every stream perfumed with fins and footsteps
Every eel grass bed an anthem
Every tide a nocturne


See we sing the river
See we stomp the dam

People who hear me in the salt waves
People who taste me in the breach
Gape mouthed, tongue brined by awe

Listen

My body is a song transcribed

A symphony on skin
Each saddle patch an orchestra
each note a difference 

Sing the body black and white
Sing an Orca song

Every story has perfume
Every song a single note 

Every whale a river in a tangled throat
Every tide a nocturne
Every stream perfumed
Every eel grass bed an anthem
All we. Finding home

By Jourdan Imani Keith