For Maya: Your First Moon Path*

from the farthest star there is tungsten
from a comet—silver
and from the moon—manganese

calcium corals and pearls from the sea
your iron refractory and ancient
earth’s silica builds you

your body an oak
sycamore and quince—roots
from the beginning
of all rivers that give birth
to all earthly heroes
numberless as the fireflies
behind the hemlock
in the woods on the hill

each light a possibility.

* Indigenous peoples’ term for menses; the poem and artwork were a gift for a friend’s daughter.