Khipu

Photo by Johnny Kaufman on Unsplash

A Poem By Louisa DeHart

a love poem longs 

for a language 

dug out of the darkness,

a dead tongue brought back to life;

hieroglyphics are too cryptic,  

elder futhark runes too wise,

a cuneiform reed can make you bleed,

and ink fades over time,

but nothing sings like khupi strings,

a message tangled in its twine,

the wool from a mated pair of white vicuñas; 

a love poem needs its knots dyed red—

fiber, ply and golden thread,

a vault full of epistles  

only the lover can decode.

the best way to read is, of course,

by moonlight,

each cord must be tenderly tied

around the lover’s hips,

moving in circles,

clothed in the knots knotted 

by her lover’s fingers— 

this is the language of love.

Louisa DeHart is a blessed mother and beloved wife. You will find her teaching internationally and writing poetry. Her soul lingers all day in Fairyland and in the Story that is coming true.