Daggers
Roseline Mgbodichinma
I bite my lip
till I can taste copper
My teeth are tiny fences
barricading my throat,
Stopping liquid from
flowing into my gullet
I never knew
I could form a graveyard in my mouth,
That I could speak
with my tongue buried in questions
If time heals all wounds
Why does grief have a bitter aftertaste?
The only special thing
about razors is the ability
to draw patterns on skin,
Lines & puzzles gleaming in red
I don't think loss can be forgotten,
It turns into black & blends with the gum
It resurfaces when it's time to speak about love
I bite into flesh digging for answers
I Tease my body with daggers
& cleanse it with spirit
I will sew my mouth
I will suck on my teeth
Anybody can be swallowed
Anybody can be bone in the gullet -
Poking the ears for an escape
Anybody can survive this,
Except me
Roseline Mgbodichinma (she/her) is a Nigerian writer whose works have appeared or are forthcoming in The African writer Magazine, The Hellebore, Serotonin Poetry, West Trestle Review, X-ray lit mag, JFA human rights mag, Serotonin poetry, Indianapolis Review, Artmosterrific, Kalahari review, Blue Marvel Review & elsewhere. She won the Audience Favorite award for the Union Bank Campus writing challenge – Okada books, she is the third prize winner for the PIN food poetry contest and a finalist for the Shuzia Creative writing contest. You can reach her on her blog www.mgbodichi.com and Twitter @Rmgbodichinma.