when I crawled from the hole 

I began to

remember 

words that had been on the tip of my tongue 

for years—

marble

gelato

chrysanthemum 

later, I would marvel at the taste of things:

sour cherry jam, dried plums, prosciutto 

I ate deep earth in the darkness

great licks of dirt

my face is pale and angry red

old leather 

old from no sun 

swallowed up, earth-slurped.