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