emmenagogue

jessamyn duckwall

i think i’ve come back again, come a new season.
nascent flowers take time to dot the field, gather
their folds around them, little priests
 
or judges with their stares.       didn’t i ask
for such sentinels once.

remembering takes time,
takes a sachet of rosemary, takes
every penny you’ve got,
            don’t they say?

a penny for your scotch broom thickening now
with bees. my own tongue heavy with angelica
 
and licorice slick. i can reach out
and touch the buds                   —they don’t shudder
the way i do.

the camphor smell of tansy
worms a hole
 
like a mouth in me
to make room in the belly
for some different
bitterness,
some sharp—some
barb—

jessamyn duckwall (she/they) is a queer, genderfluid poet. She is an MFA candidate in poetry at Portland State University, and serves as Co-Editor in Chief at The Portland Review. She enjoys reading tarot cards, talking to plants, drinking tea and making soup. Her work has appeared in Kithe Journal, Pithead Chapel, and Pathos, among other publications.