She’s wary of casting spells.
She knows how these things work –
a spell, a charm, a wish.
Who is it who
brings it to fruition?
So much is risked
in speaking its name –
the laying bare
what desires
rattle in her heart.
You can’t cast a spell
without revelation.
When the moon pulses,
and the earth simmers,
who interprets her bones?
Who is it who?
This is why
you don’t
open the knock
of your dead son’s
return.

*Inspired by Chen Chen’s “Spell to Find Family.”