unrepeat: an incantation

UNREPEAT: AN INCANTATION

by Preeti Kaur Dhaliwal

i want to sing it

unremind me, unremind me

gentle roots that rupture foundations

flutter and twitch at dusk

uncooking the pancakes, the leeks and potatoes

unmaking the pecans in my cupboard 

     remember-me-you

open, uncatching the mist of dreams 

                                                                     rising from water

unlanguage the touch, the sweetness, the kitchen 

     island with your mother 

unweave the rags, the nourishments, the tongues,   

     each limb

                                                                             a fish so big 

                                                                  one leap awakens

unbelong our spirits—every realm

unpour the wine, the cha, the whiskey, the water 

     from all lovers’ mouths 

                                                                                  all boats 

                                                               with searching rods

unspeak the futures imagined, promised, dreamt—

all of them: ungiving

saag, snapper, pleasure, rajma, an espresso cup 

     stolen from an overpriced restaurant 

because I said it was cute, a moan, callaloo

at dawn, I undream birdsong: 

wolfbird, foxbird, bird-from-far-away

                                                                                into wake

unsee our bodies in the closet mirror

me unlaid across your lap, unwrapped

around your waist 

a visitor for you                                             over and over 

                                                                    a boat flips over

somewhere a whisper: swainson's thrush, 

     olive-backed russet 

remind me (i don’t want them to) 

remind me how i long 

to liberate, remind me what it’s like to be with a 

     good—I cannot hold 

let me remember choicefully, not undo

let me ungrip the sheets, the bed frames, the clings 

     of memory—you  

                                                                                       now, 

                                                                the spiral unlocks