it is the meek who shall inherit the earth
haggard lambs
broken off from a broken flock
they shall inherit a planet so far from home
as to have been forgotten
& their feet shall kiss the sands under the belief that they have been sent to die
on an unnamed desert object
& though there will be life in the shape of forgotten trees
the nameless shall inherit the earth with their eyes extinct
their hearts buried amidst their tongues
there will be no light for them but this:
the biocrust that has crumbled may yet survive
in the shapes of thistle & sage
rising between their lips
after “can androids pray” (2019) by nat clayton & xalavier nelson jr.
sterling-elizabeth arcadia (she/they) is a trans poet and diy tattooer in washington dc, where she watches birds and cares for her cats. she is currently working on a chapbook of queer ekphrastic love poems based on her friends’ instagram posts. her work has been published in Stone of Madness Press, Fuck Your Dreams Zine, and Rejection Letters, and is forthcoming elsewhere.