Kimberly Burnham Poems

Shi - the breath of life
they breathed life into writing and poetry
thousands of years ago
...

There is a saying
in Acholi spoken in Uganda
"Ka lyec ariyo tye ka
lweny lum ayee deno can"
...

Look to the mountains and the low lands
far in the distance
the colors are changing
emotions lifting shining
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Onomatopoeia naming
the sounds associated
buzz hiss
in Chuj a language of Guatemala
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I said, 'My back hurts'
she said, 'let me tell you a story'
you walked in here wanting
something to change
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Yenzani uxolo pakati kwenu
uxololu yinto e lungileyo
in Xhosa spoken in South Africa
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I wonder sometimes
what you think
peering over the slatted wood fence
between our gardens
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...Don't judge love of the self soothing twist
of her hair over a rough patch at her neck
all the things distinctively my love
like earthy beets
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Run as if in a dream
field full of red and yellow
wild flowers
grown in the spring
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Red fire
green liver
yellow spleen
white metal
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