Hands

Jurnee Evans

I have noticed how hands

drift through air and light

catching nature in particles within our palms

and display the magic

in this world we exist among

through the pen ink that stains our fingertips

as we mould a universe from our minds

and the paint that seeps into our nail beds

as we create

everything.

Hands that rip pomegranates in two

and bring the seeds to our mouths

where they disappear

to be sucked and bit and loved

as a lifeblood

that fuels our desire

and satiates our hunger

while dripping down our lips

in saccharine affection

for an awaiting lover.

Hands that string bows and hunt the moon

with the delicacy and accuracy

of some primordial instinct

and with the deep-seated knowledge

of ancient and ghostly

guidance about the ability to

find belonging and purpose

in whittled notches

passed from one keeper

down to a younger.

Hands that trace the distorted

imperfections that are imperceivable

to anyone’s eyes

but our own

in anything we have formed

out of ourselves,

even our own blood and flesh

that give us shape

and permit us thought

and provide us with a temporary home.

Hands that draw to other hands,

close and clasping,

longing to feel another’s heartbeat

drum against ours

in perfect unity

and make the skin

meet and kiss

in the tender beauty of warmth

married from two bodies

in a bond stretching beyond time.

I have noticed how—

in an age of darkness

and fear—

all our hands

reach for the sky

and beg for lightning

so that we can be

remade anew,

a Promethean monster

given a life it did not ask for

but will accept

as long as life accepts us back.

Jurnee Evans graduated from EIU in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in English, and they now work as the Alternate Media Specialist for EIU’s Office of Accessibility and Accommodations. Their works have previously been published in The Vehicle’s 2022 and 2023 issues, and their play “Cruel Nature” was produced for EIU’s New Works Festival in November 2022. Jurnee is also a visual artist, avid reader, animal lover, horror connoisseur, and ardent activist, all of which tends to bleed into their writing. Jurnee can be found online as @silhouettecrow and on Etsy with their partner as Dove And Crow Art.