Prayer is an Ancestor

BY KIALA LÖYTÖMÄKI.

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Prayer is the place where love stretches beyond self. 

A bridge = the key that unlocks mystery 

A body = just another day in the world 

Mystery = my spirit in a body 

Rest into me and call it full.
Rest into me and call it at 25 I ran with the reindeer somewhere.
At the edge of my body I meet all bodies that once had my name.
Edges are where the most diversity lies.
Let me balance on the fringes and build a bridge between landscapes. 

A bridge = my spirit in a body 

A body = the key that unlocks mystery 

Mystery = just another day in the world

You Name it Grief

BY KIALA LÖYTÖMÄKI.

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You name it grief.
There is a hole in your chest.
It is a vacuum.
This is a wound the size of a world. 

A world is a place: 

where fires burn big because
we hate to see truth
which is that we are killing everything
precious. 

Where a medical system tells you
it knows more about your body
because system stole wisdom
from intact culture
and called it doctor.

Where you were raised to think
your experience false,
to believe you crazy, bad, crazy.
You still question everything real. 

Where a society of trauma and oppression
stole the one you love
because they fought so hard and still
never knew how to love you
without it hurting. 

This is a wound the size of a world.
It is a vacuum.
There is a hole in your chest.
You name it grief.

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Kiala Löytömäki is an emerging writer that works with themes of, but not limited to, magic, social justice, oppression, grief, prayer and healing. They are a third generation queer femme of Sámi, Russian, Scottish and Italian descent living and working on Sinixt Territory (Winlaw, BC). You can keep up with them on Instagram @kiala.loytomaki.art.