Girlhood

by Elisabet Sundstrom


Girly petals and
parental cherry blossom

I became a woman
at the age of seven
and my bed was
Noah’s Arc until I turned twelve

No clout in the cloud
In this house
there are no dwellers

International diplomacy
easier than
family reconciliation

Worry is a prayer for chaos
the future has already happened
exiled wounds
live to tell

This sky is bruised
my eye lashes
lashed out

Trespassing
with a global passport
solitude is an alluring currency

God speaks
in the space
of no resistance


* * * * *

Elisabet Sundstrom is a woman, daughter, mother, wife, friend, sister, writer and world servant. She is a recovering Swede residing in Lebanon who is obsessed with human connection and understanding the world.