this poem’s persona is me
If I had a
terminal diagnosis
which I do have
so what is the mask
I hide behind?
I bought a cheap black dress
printed with red cherries
like the one I had
when I was young
and my mother hated it so much
she wanted to rip it off me
really what she wanted to rip
was the female form
the body with its bleeding
Its miscarriages, its children
this poem’s persona is me
if I was mortal
which I am