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Jul 25
poem challenge: Writing 2022
yejunee

beneath her fingernails

my fingernails are dark from what is beneath
their edges dripping like claws, like
slaughter fresh from the battlefield, like
the kind of oil spill that stains the sea. 
my nails are dark, and black, from 
ink and my skin is paper so let me 
overwrite myself like history overwrites 
my people but give me a quill 
sharpen my teeth into pen nibs 
my bones i will burn until black and 
from the ash mix an ink so dark 
and so permanent 
just let them try 
to make me invisible 
again.  
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Posted: 07.25.22
About the Author: yejunee
Yejun Park
MSG / CONTACT
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Discussion

Comments

  1. aesythe
    Jul 25, 2022

    This has teeth, alright. There is no wishy-washy melancholy in your words, only an intense, gnashing ire -- and great determination. I may not know what your struggle is, but you've stirred up a bitter sense of injustice for me.

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