Each month I feel
less—less muscle
mass, less fear
of the unknown,
less tolerance
for bullshit—
shape-shifting
woman, bones
rearranging
in clicks and pops.
I never needed
to visit the hot
springs. Until now.
The body wants
what it needs, aging
a kind of erosion,
a raft down river
diving through
a revolving door.
Soon, I’ll turn
into the devil
the nuns warned
me about. I’ll walk
away, wings tucked,
earth-bound, beautiful.
–
Leonora Simonovis is the author of Study of the Raft, winner of the 2021 Colorado Prize for Poetry. She lives in San Diego, CA, where she teaches Latin American literature and creative writing at the University of San Diego.