Fecundation
by Barbara Maria DeSilva
Barbara Maria DeSilva, Fecundation, digital photograph, 2025. Courtesy of the author.
Fecundation
Barbara Maria DeSilva | JUly 2025 | Issue 47
I want you to fuck me in the field with the flowers
Press me against the
corn flower - red clover - sweet alyssum
give me stamen and stigma and sepal
unfurl my golden blossoms
slurp my sticky nectar
fill your pollen sacs with my yellow
sting me sting me sting me
I want to grow swollen under your touch
and scratch at you every night
pour your whole self down me
your mucilaginous sweetness lubricating my edges
marshmallow root - sweet violet - common mallow
light me on fire and detox my being
dandelion - calendula - golden, golden, golden rod
I want you to compost me from ashes
heat me until I decompose
into a fertile mound
Press our seed just beneath the surface
and let us blossom to the left of the flowering nettles
Barbara Maria DeSilva (she/they) grew up along the Pacific Coast and now resides beside the Potomac River. Find her conversing with the moon, talking to trees, and playing by the water. Barbara explores the intersections between ecology, queerness, and disability through her writing and herbalism practices.