Becoming Bodies
observations of a chronic face-lift scar by the bathroom mirror
when Eye saw I: the beaver blade’s best frenemy, Stomach inverse- lurched to capture its fleeing glint. met face madness. Lip drooped and curved, sliced and sculpted. Diabolical. not even jade guasha can fix forget-me-not-bloomed Hanahaki self-prescribed. scalpel rips through flowery lining crashing winds to fields of metal pines with hollow barks and holes of circle: to blow where IV tube met body— blood-air jetstreams: a piccolo Shrieking. blood petals sputtered meeting the love-puddled floor.
To-be Intrapartum
I see a baby glassy-grey Cord-belly spiralling In fetal position “It”, not yet “she” Suspended in amniotic sac— Kicks Face crumpled Limbs lashing Water Breaks She falls Sloshing at her mother’s Folded knees. A silent cry— No father to slap her to life. Two lumps, Big and small Decorate the blood-puddled floor.
About the Poet:
I’m a full-time student at Duke Kunshan University and a part-time bed-layer from the Philippines, but my family is based in Brunei Darussalam. Poetry has been my means of negotiating my identity as a ‘sojourner’, flitting in and out between countries, cultures, and social spaces. Currently, my favorite poets are Theresa Hak-Kyung Cha, Vincenz Serrano, Ocean Vuong, and Han Kang.
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