by Austin James
Your heart is solid bone. Your hair, spun
with etcetera’s glow, is speaking Greek
to the moon. An oboe in harmony, our spirit
curves with the spectrum of gravity;
your body is a shy lyric. Your mind—
a delta swirl toward an afternoon
and the sway of a magnolia leaf’s descent.
Our choir shakes free chaos, vanilla caramel,
and the slip of water against continents.
The sea rolls and lays salt across the wet
sand one billion years before I meet
you. Our miles thread glass as we sail
on spun faith. The remnants of the parable
are a heartbeat’s shortcut through whisper’s skin.
About the author:
Austin Allen James is a Visiting Professor at Texas Southern University, an HBCU located in Houston, TX, where he has taught since the fall of 2012. In 2016, he and his colleagues established a committee to create a “Professional Writing” concentration, which includes five creative writing classes. In addition to his academic pursuits, Austin is also a visual artist and sculptor.