SALIMAH VALIANI - FLIP OR, ON LOVE (XXXI)

SALIMAH VALIANI is a poet, activist, and researcher of world historical political economy. She has published four collections of poetry: breathing for breadth (TSAR: 2005), Letter Out: Letter In (Inanna: 2009), land of the sky (Inanna: 2016) and Cradles (Daraja: 2017). Her latest publication is the poem-story, Dear South Africa, one of seven pieces in Praxis Magazine’s 2019-2020 Chapbook Series. Her upcoming poetry collection, 29 leads to love will be published by Inanna in 2021. Check out her work online at:  https://www.facebook.com/SalimahValianiPoet/

​Flip or, On love (xxxi)

Heads


desierto florido


200 flower species sheltered for years
until rare rain decrypts the seeds
for 10,000 desert blooms


*


Bombay pink: 150,000 flamingos foraging free


*


Outeniqua and Tsitsikamma


green purple yellow
green purple yellow
green purple yellow
green purple yellow




Tails


no answers no questions
just soldiers and police in streets and sheets


*


migrant rotis and
bones


strewn over rail lines


*


We are so hungry we could eat the crust from a wound


*


reclining 
back turned to window
unable to hug and be hugged