Darkness/Lightness

This poem came to me, half formed, in a dream. 

I know what the dark shape is, and so do you.

Submitted as a seed for the Planting round of SeedComp! 2023. 

Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.

The downloadable file contains the text below:

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Darkness/Lightness

In a dream I told my mother,
"I want to go home."

Sometimes I can see the dark shape
waiting for me to make a false step
or stand too close to the stream.

Careful not to turn my back,
I take inventory of my possessions
— hard-won relics that give strength
— a shell-horn that steadies and amplifies the voice
— the lupine seeds I wear around my neck
— some heavy stones 
would make a big splash
but do nothing to protect us
(from tentacle and claw).

Tonight I will tell my mother
what she never understood:
There is no home
but what you carry with you.