You Know How

You know how to

succor the world.
It doesn't matter
whether you're a
woman or a man.
Each of you has
a mother within.

A moist mysterious

shadow spreads

on a veil of sepia,

umber, wheat,

mahogany.
The color of the cloth
doesn't matter.

You hear the cry

of yearning lips,

and yearn back.

Nameless, sweet,
your healing
swells, expressing

the milk inside.

It drips down.

Impossible to keep
this motherhood a secret.
We all need to drink
from each other.



Painting by Paul Cezanne