Make Blood

make blood the borrower the border, make blood
theharrowing, thehoeing, thesowingmake
blood the seeds.make blood the swellingthe
breath locator,the tambourine beginningmake
blood the word,the echo of thewomb,
the skullthe blood the back, the going back, the inside
spine,make blood the crawl beneaththe
beggingthe questionthe ruby lung
before it breathes.make blood the only
thingyou answer.makebloodthe
borrower,thebower,themothermakeblood
surrender,you tuber,you tendermake
blood your only tunnelyou hungeryou hope
make blood your flood,your oar,the blood
the boat,theborder
broadeningthe blood a net,a nest,the naiad silence
before it speaks.it speaks.

Cedar Brant is the author of “Like Any Other Dream Will Do” (FootHills Publishing), and her poems appear or are forthcoming in West Branch Wired, Handsome, Vela, Whitefish Review, Camas, the anthology “Poems Across the Big Sky” (Many Voices Press), and elsewhere. She is the managing editor of Colorado Review, and an MFA candidate at Colorado State University.