Djinn

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Tiger beetles scratch against flaking paint
                                    against window slats
I stand on the outside and Atika stands
                        inside
and we trap one
                    buzzing

green against adobe
                 jewel against skin

Atika's fingers are slim
She ties a strand of her hair to one of its legs
and lets it fly

Djinn she smiles, warns
               Don't let it land on your head
               You'll catch fire

This Djinn, she says was an angel
                 flamingo hedgehog burrowing-
                 resurrecting

We take it to the graveyard
Atika says to let it
eat         the bones
               with ginger and onions
the food of the flesh
pried layer by layer by
six agile legs

Blood squirms along
the inside of my thigh

It's the mark of the vanquished
               Atika says

She looks at me
hard,                smiles
before she unties her
shining, black hair