“I’ve carded wool from what caught
and filled the larder with fallen crumb”
—Luisa A. Igloria, “Border Studies 17”
We sought the truth
in magazines and Facebook quizzes.
We tried the self-improvement regimens
of every friend and celebrity.
We earned one degree and then another,
and finally, the terminal one.
We bought the houses, the cars,
all the products aimed at the heart’s hole.
Is it too late to learn
the truth? The heart yearns
to explore an alien sea
or dive to depths far below the keel.
We take our lessons from the Celts.
We set sail in tiny
boats that may not long repel
the water. We take one oar,
a loaf of bread, and a cup
to collect rain water.
We will go where the wind
hauls us, and we will stake
our claim upon a different shore,
a larder stocked
with supplies we do not know
we need.