when she hears the word
she pictures a car
crashing into a column her spine
she’s told other words
invasion foreign attack
now missiles are guided
into finger joints
the left elbow a combat zone
like an allergy
to part of yourself
the doctor explains
her knees are sneezing
where she sees a stub
of pale thumb
something in her sees
not-body
she’s a girl inside
of another girl
a whole rejecting
its wholeness
something extra her body
insists keeps swelling
to point out the exact places
here right here
get rid of this
Issue 4 Contents NEXT: Barnstormers by Malik Abduh
