Poem: I hear you’ve been looking for me

I hear you’ve been looking for me.
I’m still here, living free,
eating ash and sand,
rubbing it into my wounds,
teaching people to fight,
or to think – and aren’t those
the same thing?

I hear you’ve been asking about me.
I was away,
walking a jungle path,
staying quiet so as not to disturb
the rightful owners of the land.
I have nothing in my hand,
nothing up my sleeve
but fire and bile,
song and spit
and a readiness to die.

I hear you don’t love me anymore.
I smile at that, I lick my teeth a...