Rudbeckia hirta by L. D'Arcy Blackwell

The urge is always within,

waiting in wandering roots

unfurling tendrils of life 

wading through soaked soil,

pushing through silt and clay

petals turn sunward

leaves catch morning dew

holy arachnid offerings glint

between your sisters and you

you:

stubborn in your very existence,

plucked in your prime,

star-shaped and black-eyed

black-eyed:

not from taking the brunt of this cruelty

but from existing as you’d always been, 

as you are

the violence of life displayed in your beauty

L. D'Arcy Blackwell is a queer poet who lives in her hometown of St. Louis, MO. Her work has been published in Winnow Literary, 7^th-Circle Pyrite, The Writer’s Workout, and others. She finds meaning in connecting people and fostering community, whether through poetry, conversation, or in her work as a fitness professional. She is mother to feisty, thoughtful humans and feistier, less thoughtful cats.