Member-only story
Some Things I Know
About my body, my history, my world
Inspired by Aja Monet’s “What I’ve Learned”
I know I have a freckle right in the middle of my bottom lip,
That this is one of my favorite things about myself.
I used to dream that one day a man
Would find and kiss each speck on my body,
And leave stars behind to twinkle on every spot.
I know I can open any jar you give to me,
Pickles, jam, pesto, tomato sauce,
My wrists are as strong as my grandmother’s
Which scrunched clothes clean every Saturday,
Whisked cake batter glassy smooth in seconds.
I know what it’s like to work all day
In a job you hate, for a boss you hate, on a wage that’s too low,
Taking shit and smiling through gritted teeth just for tips,
To buy secondhand clothes, a train fare to the city;
And you are studying, so it won’t be forever, right?
I know how fake and hollow dead bodies look,
Like badly made plaster, clay, Play-Doh,
Shrunken like jeans put in too hot a wash;
How they make everything feel still, tilt and fall,
Rip out…
