amolia's paper crane

a parakeet alights

on my grandmother's shoulder

flits his little wings

and roosts

as she writes capital letters

in a grid of black and white squares

seeming infinite

as a pen's inky xylem

bottomless cokes

and woven straw takes

the shape of hats

pencil and lipstick

take the shape of lips'

'a german

takes the shape of brooklyn

how long was she a survivor

when she lived

when did she lose language

lose a first name

the use of her legs

traumaturgs exact somatic logic

instead of semanticism

childhood cleaves the partial from paralysis

to paraphrase

the parakeet who bites my brother's lips

but nuzzles Marion's foundational cheeks

and chirps four letter words

for five letter voids