O Mother

O Mother,

A dark string leaks from the wound in my stomach.

I feel it moving

Like an ingrown harness

Through bloody vessels

Clotted

Knotted in loops

Lumped tight;

It pops free

Like a fishing line

Breathing relief

I reel out

A Tigress of Tar

A curse

So viscous

And vile

I hadn’t noticed It’s ownership

Sealed inside

Stealing my fire

To feed its insatiable appetite.

O Mother,

I exonerate your lies and your betrayal as I pull the bitterness from my belly.

Grant us peace.

🎨/📷 by Gao Qifeng, Two Tigers One Mountain, 1888 - 1933 (?) year unknown