MASKING
a discrete second skin
cleaving my teeth,
keeping my words sweet
lest I swallow them cold
fluttering morsels flaying
my throat closed—
a gall abashed and broken
awaiting mending
stilled—arrhythmic…
wary to speak
Blurb
Poetry can be an opportunity to explore—our thoughts, our beliefs, our history, our future, our current state—everything we believe to be true—by shining a light on what has found its way into those dark corners we often overlook.
I wanted this poem to reside in the body, as tension often does when we refuse to be our authentic selves. I wanted it to feel unresolved as our masks often are.