just dust by Linnea Boese
I’m only dust
musty soil
frustrated
mixed with ash
trash from fires
consumed
but you
have fashioned me
into a woman
human
and infused
with life-breath
from the womb
and like you
reproductive
ready to pass on
the image
stamped indelibly
on your creation
man and woman
even though
we wear it bent
lines twisted
out of line
less defined
than when you
made…