Once I was immortal,
condemned to endless mornings,
empty of the knowledge
of manmade rituals.
Until out of my mouth that knows
―came the shape I was seeking.
Now I want to be
a waterfall of hummingbirds
covering our bodies.
Sometimes I read you
under another twilight.
In that half-light
your voice is different.
When you open your wings
you do not look like yourself
but I know that it’s you.
I exist to be conquered.
I, set against all other I’s,
am a stillborn poem
about your pagan beliefs.
Sergio A. Ortiz is the founding editor of Undertow Tanka Review. He is a two-time Pushcart nominee, a four-time Best of the Web nominee, and 2016 Best of the Net nominee. 2nd place in the 2016 Ramón Ataz Annual Poetry Competition sponsored by Alaire publishing house. He is currently working on his first full-length collection of poems, Elephant Graveyard.
