Graceina Samosir
1.
I come willing / Hajar flinging moans in a room free of archetype / my hospital gown is not
white / underneath faded petals I scramble / to embody anything other than myself / I
hedgehog / quills uneven grown / no one has taught me the origami of pain / my brain pixelates
shock / across the expanse of my barren back / a fear / curling body inward to protect itself from
itself / I hear push with your abs / I unfurl / hog on display / quills nail me to the bed / I bear
down
2.
I press into a quiet corner / a creature
facing the inevitability of loss / I do not
resist / the body understands / submit /
إِنَّا لِلَّٰهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ*
3.
my spine curves into sand / unable to shed thick skinned symbol / scarab
poised to expel but the body latches on to its own memory / no
woman has ever come before me but me / I cave / belly skin ice / I
would make a good igloo / only I was promised wings / unnatural
want / 7 times around the room / where are my stones? / one
pebble to prove myself / my back exits stage left / blue curtain separates me / cleaved
/ muscles pulled aside / the ocean lies open like a floating lotus / nothing
to bear but the moment itself / a blood performance in white light / hair
covered / face uncovered
* “We are of God and to Him we shall return.” Quran, verse 2: 156.
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Sally Badawi is an Egyptian-American writer and teacher whose words appear in Diode, Orange Blossom Review, Lost Balloon and elsewhere. She was a poetry fellow with Summer Literary Series in St. Petersburg, Russia and her work has been nominated for Best of the Net 2021 and the Pushcart Prize. She currently serves as an associate editor at Typehouse Literary Magazine.