by Ellen Chang-Richardson
if written with a writerly slant, the word tiān
can be misinterpreted as almost human
take an old seal. stand it, on its head. soft
and sweet ask yourself what growth do you discover?
LOCATE ITS ROOTS:
Mongolian –tengri “sky, heaven,
heavenly deity”
Tibeto-Burman –taleŋ –tǎ-lyaŋ “sky” “sky”
Chinese –tiān –tin1 “summit, mountaintop,
top of the head”
Naga –tiŋ “sky”
cloak it in petrichor
craft a prayer-ritual to harvest
it from the sky
pluck it, prod it, pummel it into a pulp
forget, that you are twined
ELLEN CHANG-RICHARDSON (they/her) is an award-winning poet whose multi-genre writing has appeared in third coast magazine, Watch Your Head and Room, among others. They currently live/work on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe (Ottawa, ON) and co-founded Riverbed Reading Series. Find her online at ehjchang.com.
oracle bone can be found in Augur Issue 4.2.
