i have built my tower on the wings of a spider
spinning slippery daydreams of paperdoll fantasies
i built my tower on the beak of a dove
pecking peace to a needing woman
i have built my dreams on the love of a man
holding a nation in his palm asking me the time of day
i built my castle by the shore thinking
i was an oyster clammed shut forever
when this tiny grain i hardly noticed
crept inside and i spit around
and spit around and spun a universe inside
with a black pearl of immeasurable worth
that only i could spin around
i have borne a nation on my heart
and my strength shall not be my undoing
cause this castle didn’t crumble
and losing my pearl made me gain
and the dove flew with the olive branch by harriet’s route
to my breast and nestled close and said “you are mine”
and i was full and complete while emptying my wombs
and the sea ebbed ohhhhhhhhh
what a pretty little baby