∗

More than a collection of nests, there are galaxies in every bromeliad
When cut, the rings will tell one story, sure
But in truth, my boughs were weighted with histories
My lithe seeds will travel on the wind all the way past what I can see, to the sea
This is home

 

 

 

The water is deep and I have long had a fear of drowning

Gasping for air while you fill my lungs, I only struggle because I resist

You give me water and I am so thirsty. You give me water and I complain that I am parched

I am wild with thirst and have no compass

You deserve the stars

You have birthed a universe

Flowers bow

And I am blessed to hear you whisper my name like it is some sweet candy dancing on your

Tongue

∗

I know you wanted me to take you there against the rocks. Splash. Sip and split, my tongue wet with your sweet pleasure. Although you touched my little wound you didn’t see how deep. I tremble. My heart beats faster now when you draw close. I have to check my breath. My fingers seek your own like it is medicine.

∗

What is time?
One drop of meaning in this endless celestial everytime
I
Have to avert my gaze
Ablaze, I drop my lashes low
Inside a storm
Still warm, slow
Fuck
We melt into the river
I know you wanted to take me there
Although I touched your little wound
I didn’t see how deep

∗

Rubies and emeralds
fill the Blue Basin
Sideways glance
Mouth curls into a smile
Then, snip snip and scurry away
Under
the water falls
Feral
Forest walks
In to the hold of
Cemetery strolls
Strident blessing of one
Jouvay morning sun

Upside down

The world is turning

 

 

∞

Tracy Assing is a Trinidadian writer, editor, filmmaker, and artist and a member of the country’s indigenous community. Her writing has appeared widely in periodicals such as Caribbean Beat and The Caribbean Review of Books, as well as anthologies such as So Many Islands (2018). Her groundbreaking documentary film The Amerindians, which is the first film on the subject of indigenous survival in the English-speaking Caribbean, screened at the 2010 Trinidad and Tobago Film Festival. In 2026 she was one of two creatives selected for the Lucayan Archipelago Residency, run by Fresh Milk, Poinciana Paper Press and supported by the Panta Rhea Foundation.