Aloe Vera
The healing plant,
not just a folktale
but one that sutures
torn skin. It’s faded green
blotches spread into each of its girthy
leaves overflowing its guts and blood
into each of its spines,
overtaking my sightline
screen, out of the peripheral
and zoomed in and in focus,
its overarching arms enveloping
me. Each leaf peels back away,
dries and spills along the sides of the pot.
The crumpling dead leaves
burn to a crisp and are whisked
away by cold front winds.
Alexander P. Garza (he/him) is a Mexican-American poet from Houston, TX. His work has appeared in Toyon, Indianapolis Review, Dissections, Star*Line and others. He is a graduate student in the Program for Writers at University of Illinois - Chicago. Visit him on Instagram/Twitter, @alexanderpgarza and http://alexanderpgarza.com.