Before I am flesh, I am first
my mother’s jewel, formed inside

her womb more hurricane than love
and more loved than broken. Diamond,

she says, do not be diamond for people
who don’t understand how much of you

had to hurt before you could call yourself
beautiful, before the mirror made sense

for being a mirror, before all your scars
were blood, first, and healing, second. This rain,

this rain and thunder has so much of you
before it became a part of the sky.

What I am trying to say is, You are sky.
What I am trying to say is, It’s okay

if your parts suddenly become parts
of a decaying thunderstorm, darling,

you cannot call the sky a sky without it.
Before I am flesh, I am first

my mother’s jewel, formed inside
her womb more kind than angry,

more forgiving than I’ve ever
given myself credit for, and

more loved than I ever was
since the day I was born.
Kharla M. Brillo || before i am flesh