the universe will end & kali will still be here,

          solo, skirting the rim of our smolder, our ruin,

all lotus bud, bell-beat & drum-song, those many hands &
the severed heads they hold, masc-demonic,

          a warning. alone in the neither

light nor dark, she will stay the dusty blue
of not-time, will evade even as she creates,

          is death & is energy, is. i cannot imagine 

this : outliving one’s infamy. how women 
survive being burned alive & offer, in return,

          forgiveness. girls with reconstructed faces

refusing hate. i want to crown all victims
with the safety of fur, give each

          our own grove, something sacred, i want

to worship dichotomy. o goddess of lust
& violence, i tire of trying to find peace. 

          i want to unleash. to be taught

rage. kali, we lived & our bodies were
trespassed. release us from this cage.