Alight
By Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello
Published 31 August 2026
what lies behind
my forehead
is my Grandmothers’ Law
her women’s wisdom
inherited alive
alight
the illuminated
weave of my skin like
ripple on water
windsong through reeds
aloud this music
this ancient archeology
I am my face is
fire-birthed
out of shadows
and heat-flow formed
and re-formed like my
duty of care
for this
country/my body
the generations
of my womb
I am excavated and reclaimed
dissected irradiated
healed from the scars
of ghosts
What is the light that sets your mind alight, not just at the front of your brain, but at the very centre of your being?
Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello
#30in30 #PoetryMonth