Luminous and simple

Luminous and simple (2017). Inkjet prints on handmade milkweed paper with varied inclusions, sewn with paper thread. 14 x 8 x 0.5′ closed, 16.25′ wide open. 14 leaves. UC Riverside Rivera Library collection.

From plants, we can ply rope
we can weave cloth
and make lace

From caterpillars,
we can make an entire culture,
learn to read and write.
We can paint and clothe ourselves
all over again
We can build hierarchies
that chart a new demise.

With genes and time, a worm can fly in the sky
By our will, they can travel over sea and land

We could leave them to live and fly again
We can return to luminous strands
of silky stalks, done with their yearly labor

Monarchs have hatched and departed.
What remains grays, stands, grows brittle and thin
What remains blackens and falls

From these windfalls we could ply string,
weave cloth,
and make paper

We could live simply, encased in threads full of light
We could.