Spirits of the Motherland

Xena Warrior Princess with an iron
bra sprays Downy wrinkle release
on khakis & I say thank you. I am gentle.
There’s a little nipple on my new pen
so I can draw on my intelligent pad, 15
dreams of when I was a violent man-
sized version of Brahman. Full of unseen
colonies, my hands could summon
cold. WASH ME written on the passenger
window covered in salt. I water the Shasta
daisy with Mt. Dew, the rare old kind
that makes grasses grow & water flow
in a free & easy way-gone part of me still
alive outside Limerick, rousing a cup of tea.

Jim Davis is a Master’s candidate at Harvard University, and has previously studied at Northwestern University and Knox College. His work has appeared in Seneca Review, Santa Clara Review, Wisconsin Review, Midwest Quarterly, and California Journal of Poetics, among many others. In addition to the arts, Jim is a teacher, coach, and international semi-professional football player.