Yarrow House

Origami

In the womb, cells 
multiply, divide, 
morph 
into familiar shapes— 
a head, a tail, 
tiny paws that paddle 

in the amniotic fluid. 
A creature turns 
at the end 
of its tether. 
Pushes into air, 
and still the cells 

divide. 
The body expands, 
and its brain, 
folding 
and unfolding, 
neurons extending,
pruning back, 

and re-extending,
filling up
the skull.
And the life that’s 
formed, the dreams, 
the various realities 

that ramify—
travel, affairs, 
divorces— 
creating 
a world, 
creasing and folding

and refolding me,
shaping my 
creaturely self. 
Do I become a wolf 
or a frog
or a crane flying?

Published in Aji Magazine, Issue 12: Spring 2020

Like what you're reading? Don't keep it to yourself.

Onetime reproduction for non-resale purposes permitted by the author with the following credit line: by J Yarrow