Banana Kush on the Rocks, triple threat, a treble hook, dripping fentanyl, cast like a spell cast backwards, the Missouri River will dizzy you down, up, moves invisibly, buttery, the ghost of Ginger Rogers dancing with bare feet, draws you in, ships you places at will you will never return, rescue or be recovered from, the Missouri River will soothe, slope, tumble you into stillness, water weaving broken and unbroken, never absolutely broken, across primordial statues of this particular world, broken and unbroken, never absolutely broken, the Missouri River will hypnotize a treble hook of senses, and the swirls between the swings, the silky undertow capturing my curiosity, the silky undertow that could capture my anatomy, are not misplaced on me, the swirls between rigorous and reverie, Banana Kush on the Rocks means wander but don’t slip, if a stone is aroused, step to drier ground, wonder but don’t slip, sit still on that stone, head to higher ground, Banana Kush on the Rocks, two worms, resting on the rocks under the rocks under my ass, resting in two pieces, the Missouri River has me curving through schools of question marks, dizzying, rushing, between your rigorous and reverie, worlds you wrap tight and gift yourself, chain link fence criss-crossing chain link fence, words linked to wishes, linked to words, linked to wishes, the Missouri River has me submerging lines, watching tension turn to slack, turn back, Banana Kush on the Rocks, my swirls between the swings that smash into primordial things, my world, this particular realm, decelerates, to gaze the glimpse captured between criss- crossing fence, secret vacation home, the landscape where your balance unearths its footing, and you rest in one piece, broken and unbroken, never absolutely broken.

 

Bekah Steimel is an internationally published poetic person who was “mostly dead, slightly alive” on VV ECMO life support in 2019 from double lung failure (get your flu shot! And COVID vaccine as well!). An artist reporting back from the other side. Developing Chance Books LLC.