I travelled across state lines
to collect lavender
for a woman

I knocked on her door
kissed the insides of her wrists
and stepped inside

she shook her head
and coughed up a crow
that guffawed at my efforts
and made a mess of my hair

it thrashed about the foyer
sending me tumbling backwards
backwards
onto the stoop

she locked the door

the stars appeared one by one
like allies

I watched
from the ground
through the windows
while she hunted the crow
scolding it for revealing itself

I watched
my love
forget me first
then the crow
then the dark

and use my lavender to make her tea
and crawl into bed
wide-eyed
until sleep enveloped her, unlocking her jaw

and the crow crept back into
my love’s gaping mouth
without a sound

# # #

Sarah E. is an artist of Iranian descent who creates experimental and absurdist theatre, collage, video, movement, and poetry. Sarah began her career as an experimentalist during a Fulbright fellowship in Spain, where she learned to direct theatre in a bilingual rehearsal environment at Garaje Lumière. A few credits include directing Tongues by Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaikin, assistant directing the world premiere of Wax Wings by Matthew Maguire, producing Nowruz at Cloud City Art Space in collaboration with Ajam Media Collective, and publication in the inaugural issue of The Menstrual, a radical literary journal. By day, Sarah is a practicing attorney, representing the underrepresented in New York courtrooms. www.sarah-e.com

Photo: Mohamed Nohassi