"she is the wind…" Poem by Diane di Prima

she is the wind you never leave behind
black cat you killed in empty lot, she is
smell of the summer weeds, the one who lurks
in open childhood closets, she coughs
in the next room, hoots, nests in your hair
she is incubus
face at the window
she is
harpy on your fire-escape, marble figurine
carved in the mantlepiece.
She is cornucopia
that wails in the night, deathgrip
you cannot cut away, black limpid eyes
of mad girls singing carols behind mesh, she is
the hiss in your goodbyes.
Black grain in green jade, sound
from the silent koto, she is
tapestry burned
in your brain, the fiery cloak
of feathers carries you
off hills
when you run flaming
down
to the black sea