little fires in the body
1December 31, 2024 by The Citron Review
by Melissa Eleftherion
Our dream an owl in Chinese pistache & how it hooted
How the dark sirens & we turn to it
Wanting a breath of melancholy
The dream itself only a signifier
But still I felt the changes brisk & cold as early light
Would I to purge magic
A wound would mouth
Blow a kiss to starlings
Unbow the nearest dark
Transformation is everywhere
Little fires in the body
A metronomic wand centering heartache
To leave it behind what risk what stakes
Damn courage and her radial will
I make a box of death I place
Worry inside I make a wreath
Of clover & yarrow warmed by the sun
Here the furs of longing linger
It’s ok to want things
Melissa Eleftherion (she/they) is a writer, a librarian, & a visual artist. Born & raised in Brooklyn, they are the author of 2 poetry collections, field guide to autobiography (The Operating System, 2018), & gutter rainbows (Querencia Press, 2024), as well as twelve chapbooks including abject sutures (above/ground press, 2024). Melissa now lives in Northern California where she manages the Ukiah Branch Library, curates the LOBA Reading Series, & serves as Poet Laureate Emeritus.
The Citron Review 
[…] wrote “little fires in the body” shortly after making a box of death thanks to Michelle Tea’s tarot […]