Her Lady Naturaleza

By Isabella Patterson

wet red clay between our toes 
it’s a new sensation 
but when the mud covers our feet it all looks the same 

as we walk through the humid summer selva following the trail along the stream
i want to climb up the forest’s trees with you 
escaping the thickness of the air and the crowded population of wood
we could be above it all 
becoming united with the canopy 
el sol dulce shining on our fresh skin 
absorbing its rich energy 
and us looking upon the lush verdura debajo 

this exploration transforms me back into innocence 
where there is so much left in the world to learn and discover
like how to tie my shoes 
or where the ends of all the rivers lead to 
but i know it’s the endless océano 
in which i float and i feel like nothing 
like nothing has ever existed before 
and nothing will ever exist again 

and all that exists is a permanent rhythm 
and i am gifted the pleasure of being within it 

within you 
within you everything feels natural 
you are the glimmer on the water and the sap in the trees and the sparks in the smoke 
and i am the telephone wire and the roads and the train tracks wrapped tightly around you 
just a mark on your infinity

Isabella Patterson is a junior biology and dramatic arts major from Charlotte, NC. In their free time, they can be seen exclusively acting in productions that involve intoxicated audiences. She loves hammocking by streams and collecting little rocks for her little rock collection.