How do you heal a family?
How use the water of love to germinate new growth;
Graft on eyes, accents, histories,
Moisten presence, warm breath, move beyond words
To shared experience, memories like flowers
Unfurled above new-tangled corporeal roots,
Fragrance living in conjoined minds
Long after the sere petals drop away.
How do you open the door?
How do you close the distance?
— Lauren Otis
Lauren Otis is a writer and artist who lives and works in Trenton, New Jersey.
