Tell Me What You Know About Dismemberment * Every time she describes her pain, an entire layer of skin peels off my body. Every time she tells me about the knife that slices her open, her talking mouth swallows me whole. Silently, I travel through her digestive tract, waiting to be expelled. Beneath my skin […]

What Do You Remember About The Earth? *  It was more like dust. The ants traveled easily from place to place. There was no room for a swing and still they bought one, and squeezed its metal frame between two concrete walls—barely an inch on either side. And there she swung. For hours. Because of […]

Who Is Responsible For The Suffering of Your Mother? * If her mother is called a dragon, a girl has to do everything she is asked. But what if only the neighborhood children call her mother a dragon? And what if the adults in the neighborhood call her mother The Wife of the Man Who […]

What Is The Shape of Your Body? * A fist—balled.[1]  Not to throw a punch, but to protect myself.   ____________________ [1] My fingers curl inward, gently so that my nails don’t dig into my palms.   * This question comes from Bhanu Kapil’s book The Vertical Interrogation of Strangers (Kelsey St. Press, 2001) The […]

Where Did You Come From / How Did You Arrive? * The answer is being held under deep water. I can make out letters. I can make out words. But I can’t understand how they all fit together to make meaning. Every time I reach into the water to grab the words and bring them […]

Who Are You and Whom Do You Love? * I didn’t have the kind of mother who put lemon verbena petals in my pillowcase so that this was the first thing I smelled when I woke up in the morning. But I have wanted this kind of mother, so I have become her. The beloved […]

And what would you say if you could? * Poor, poor, you. You have finally realized that I am not all the ills of this land. You sent your letter of apology. I sent back a large piece of paper that I folded in quarters, and on which I wrote one line—I forgave you a […]

Describe a morning when you woke without fear? * I had trusted them. I had asked directions and so it was clear I was lost. The two men insisted on guiding me home. I didn’t want their guidance. I just wanted to be pointed in the right direction. But they would only give me as […]

How Will You / Have You Prepare(d) For Your Death? * I have betrayed so much of the life I was expected to live. I got away with choosing my own lover. I got away with choosing more than one lover. I got away with having to make the choice of a lover from only […]

Who Are You and Whom Do You Love? I didn’t have the kind of mother who put lemon verbena petals in my pillowcase so that this was the first thing I smelled when I woke up in the morning.  But I have wanted this kind of mother, so I have become her. The beloved who […]