once

lost tongue & sternum. my dreams

drifted off away into distant nebulae

into lungs of a tether or a lover.

i scaled a cheese grater fence for 10 years

shaved bloodied skin off chest and breast

yanked intestines parallel to spine

painted my torso in wild styled frills:

spectacle.


look

eyes on the other side

the eyes of completed journeys of different kinds

congregated to sanction the shredding of
an_ti_ci_pa_tion* deferment, fermentation, shunter


can you see them? on the porch?

yeah, but they don’t wave


its almost time


shucks

buttercup cartwheels

licensed incense

guided and misguided


like the broken acrylic nail in her palm;

she’s precious and useless.

come now

let’s go say ‘hi’


*

Chebet Fataba writes and has been published in Burning House Press and on the youth-led African feminist network As Equals Africa. You can find her stories on djembequest.wordpress.com

Photograph is from performance by Leif Holmstrand. More info here: https://www.leifholmstrand.se/leif_holmstrand.html