KOCHAM: I love
Both singular and imperfect,
the accented voice of the girl
we pass on Bożego Ciała
crying
I love! I love.
KOCHASZ: You love
This is magic. Watch:
I roll you and love
into one compact word
and end it with a whisper
KOCHA: He/she/it loves
[HE/SHE/IT] chokes
in the middle of things,
and comes out sighing
KOCHAMY: We love
Add just one letter to the singular
and suddenly
We
KOCHACIE: You (pl.) love
You all love together,
transmutation of one
into a new fullness
ie the peony plant my mother moved
from my grandfather’s garden
after his death
that now blossoms in abundance
KOCHAJĄ: They love
End with a tail pointed forward
to imply that this is not finished,
that there exists an infinity of loves
waiting for two mouths to conjugate them into meaning
Shannon Kuta Kelly’s work has appeared in Poetry Ireland Review, the Irish Times, Crannog, and Body Prague. She was named one of the best new Irish and British poets of 2018 by Eyewear Press. She lives in Galway, Ireland.