ISSUE 8 | JANUARY 2024 | WOMAN ISSUE
it is topaz year. so why not—
long line at the CVS? Why sit/conjure
still.
the stone rushes in. & pebble under trachea.
fledgling above still water.
then surprise sibyl on weekends.
in these foreign lands, I hear
grass blade bends into itself.
footless summers with putrid
rolls of warm
unsure water on tongue
or.
colds sweat in brush winter,
merry burnt foliage,
quickening dims,
recursive faces in the shadows of kerosene
lamps. resting dusted
feet. god,
I’ve dreamt myself dark
a riplet of long whiptides
a lingering cloud dragged across
lingering eyes still
better?
than lying sideways face
drooping till it slides off the bone
to the dirt.
than embalming the brain,
planting caladiums in my ear.
Michelle N’ankra Oppong
Michelle N’ankra Oppong is a poet currently in an MFA program. Her primary focus and thesis are on recontextualizing living spaces such as rooms and houses, through the lens of blackness, identities, mathematical concepts, politics, body, and various sentimentalities.
Social Media
Twitter:@akos_dbandit
Photo by Sam Moghadam Khamseh on Unsplash