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

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