part i - xylem

isn’t it beautiful
that you look to me for direction
yet i look to you for support,
that i need not open my mouth
for you to know what to say.

that i offer my shoulder
before you break down,
and that i can look in your eyes
and know when you lie.

there is an ease
that we find in sisterhood -
both light
and dark.

part ii - phloem

(i have always been the moon
and you have always been my sun.)

is this why
i rather bite my tongue
and fill my mouth with blood
before i say i love you?
because you arrive at meaning
before I even depart.

or
is it the fear
that you will discover
how to move out of my shadow
and be your own fire
that i must first
put you out
before
you ignite.
— reflexions | xylem and phloem

Alexxa Walker and Kheanna Walker
Self-Portrait
Highlands, Scotland
April 16, 2022