ancient remedies

Raquel Medora

can you tell me?

how the roots

and the leaves

listen

while i place my hand

on their trunks

and ask them

to whisper their wisdom

as if the bark could bark

orders at me

about how to save a marriage

how to serve

how to hide emotions

in a vaulted reserve

how the calluses on my memories

have lived in my brain in vain

can it snap back into place

as if snapping wouldn’t just break

a branch away

without a roof

the air is like transparency

voiceless and present

no facet of truth to unearth

your hands like wiggling worms

ambition like a slippery snail

hidden face of a temptress

let her, like water, wash away

More from Raquel Medora ↓

• @raquel.medora on Instagram
• Lost in Thought on Substack
• Her book, Moms Are The Strongest Men, is out now

You can listen to me read Raquel Medora’s poem, The Month of Lavender, over on Instagram @rembrandts.cure

Mentioned in this episode:

Write After: National Poetry Month with One Poem Only

Write After is a way to encourage poets to listen and write, and use National Poetry Month to highlight how listening to poetry makes us better poets. I know I write the best when I’m surrounded by beautiful poetry–it’s part of the reason I created this podcast, and I want to encourage others to share this practice. We'll get started in April. You can share to #WriteAfterOPO.

#WriteAfterOPO