did you know that you can reignite a fire by the tail of its smoke?
sometimes i wish to be bright orange ash
ascending and illuminating the deep blues and wisps of grey.

i could lie and say that smoke trailed into my eyes
but i cried within to the heavens
asking for a flame reignited.

i don’t need a vision within the flames
the stories upon the wall are enough.

caliche fields lives upon the prehistoric ruins of the permian basin; they hold an ma specializing in the poetry of sor juana inés de la cruz. they’re rooted in interdisciplinary natures and their work dwells within the kitchen, its sciences and philosophies. their debut chapbook, caliche untapp’d, was published by fruit bat press in 2021.