Complete Issue - Shippensburg University

55Liquid LeviathanD a v i d Le e Ke i s e rM o n t c l a i r St a t e UniversityWhen tongues frost with singular snowflakes andFractal patterns collapse under bated palatesManna dissolvesWhen necks slicked with sweatGarner gold beads andBodily deltas cleanseA momentary flush of glandular renewalWhen nipples conduce water andMammary glands spike with hormonesNutritional alchemyBut when we in the West hear others drink urineWe say so sick so unsanitary so unwiseOr so it seemsWhen we in the west hear that BikramHeats past one hundred and fiveWe say Namaste for our lube jobAnd when we see sweat as unwomanlyThe sweat we regret serves us bestLeft alone to its own gladular devicesWhen water flows from loinsRich with stolen mineralsGolden kidneys excreteSweet saccharin syrupBut beneath the sugarIs SugarWhen Indian boys swim in harbors sullied with toxinsLegs remember brown waterWhen Yoruban priests drink acid rainOsun takes note in his haraAnd when Chinese dams leave Laos rivers powerlessPeasants spawn against the currentBut swimming into tidesSteels souls tethered to perpetual droughtAquatic epiphany!David Lee Keiser is a teacher educator at Montclair State University. His poetry has been published in the PatersonLiterary Review, Democracy and Education, HEArt Journal, and other publications. david.keiser@montclair.edu