Thursday, February 24
ONE GEOGRAPHY OF BELONGING
After Ocean Vuong's "Prayer for the Newly Damned"
Dearest Mother, what becomes of the girl
no longer a girl?
The stretch marks from my once breasts
have migrated
to their new tectonic
flats. But you can always find
hints of what used to be.
Trust me, it is more beautiful
this way, to look closely
at my body and name it things like: Pangea & history & so, so warm.
Look at me now
and you’ll see how blood
faithfully takes
the shape of its body,
never asking
too many questions.
Dearest Mother, how many rivers
did I run across your belly?
Do you love
that they will never dry up?
Dearest Mother, I’ll make all
this water worth it. (Kayleb Rae Candrilli)