Sara Rose Lieto
Long Winter, New Spring
My pussy is perennial.
In soil for years,
in bloom for decades,
winding through the
wild stems of weeds
to reach the light.
My pussy is perennial
in how perennial
can be evergreen.
My perennial is peony.
Rich pink and ornamental,
all fingers in the center,
curled up in the crown,
underground through
the winter.
It’s been a long winter.
My perennial remembers
when it wasn’t mine at all,
when it was a root un-tangled
from the warm food of mud,
some other hands re-knotting the
stem and shucking the meat
from the bulb.
Who owns a flower
but the earth,
Anyway.
My pussy is still bud,
even after replanting;
the sun rises to remind me
that I can till my own dirt.
The soil shifts to remind me
that my perennial exists.
My pussy opens into bloom today.
In my body, my petals turn
their edges to the outside.
In my body,
it is springtime.
Sara Rose Lieto is a poet, artist, and software engineer based in Cambridge, MA. Outside of writing, she spends her time learning about flowers, climbing rocks, and making zines about empathy. You can find her online at www.sararoselieto.com.
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