I can believe almost anything-
that we began
as thoughts an ocean away carried as seeds or smog or trash
across the water
by capital by will by God
or
we began
as crumbs ferried in the beaks of
waxwings birds of paradise
we began
as birds ourselves-
migration
instinct.
Pins pierce dots and blocks of color
to yoke memory to cartography:
we’ve scattered across the world.
Tiny planets
mark crumbs
entire lives spun
along axes imperceptible
to souls never moved by the wind.
― Michelle Peñaloza, from Former Possessions of the Spanish Empire