A journal of art + literature engaging with nature, culture, the environment & ecology

Voice of Rain

KayLee Chie Kuehl (Iowa City, USA)

 

the smell of rain 

on her skin still carries 

the scent of the sea

 

the same strip of emerald blue

that tore at her ancestors feet

when they cut the folds

between their toes on the boat 

that ripped open the throat

of their homeland

leaving corpses tangled 

in the carcasses of trees

flesh and bone 

scattered along the lips 

of the ocean

 

the smell of rain

on her skin still carries 

the scent of the dead 

 

the bodies of stolen people

have been discarded, decayed

inside the embrace 

of rip tides and waves 

but when the sea breathes 

their voices rise 

spread across a hollow sky 

carve open the clouds 

and fall to her skin. 

 

the rain

is the ancestor’s cleanse. 

 

KayLee Chie Kuehl is a poet, writer, and artist based in Iowa City. Her projects often focus on culture, identity, race, and spirituality. Through the work creates, she hopes to provide a safe space, encourage empathy, and help heal as many people as possible. 

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