What Grief Likes

1 caretake the lost causes, a mother’s legacy

the healthy ones count their crackers to be seen

Megan FebuaryNovember 19, 2021poem, Women writers Comment

Miscarriage

“can you look at it” i asked,
without meaning
to say those words

Megan FebuaryNovember 10, 2021poetry, poem, miscarriage, grief, motherhood, Women writers, for women who roarComment

heart sucker

the girl searches for her politics in every crease
of his body and thinks this is what feminism is or
could be but the best part is that she will never
see him again can forget his name his hands the fact
that he likes Leonard Cohen too

Megan FebuaryJanuary 4, 2020poetry, poem, women writersComment

Decay of the Baby Bottle

i dress the darkness
in doll’s clothing
with a crown of dusty, pink death.

Megan FebuaryDecember 17, 2019poetry, loss, child loss, poem, griefComment

Promise Me That

“Promise me that or nothing at all”
Maya Angelou said to me
this night when I am reading poems
instead of writing them.

Megan FebuaryDecember 12, 2019poetry, poemComment

A Lesson in Forgiveness I Have Yet to Learn

it’s hard to talk to mama sometimes
we both hold the pain
like a pretty cupcake
but with nasty icing

Megan FebuaryDecember 11, 2019poetry, poem, writers, writing, writing community, black writers Comments

Whispers from the Ground

My first cry was heard
by the Fronds that fanned my mother
The sun painted my skin–
The color it should be.

Megan FebuaryDecember 11, 2019poetry, poem, writing, literary magazine Comments

Compassion Fatigue

If I could talk to
Seventeen-year-old me
I wouldn’t.
Instead,
I’d sit crisscross applesauce
Empathizing

Megan FebuaryDecember 11, 2019poetry, inner child, poem, compassion Comments

Kind of Man

i press into my pillow and melt—
as if it were the chest of a man.
a kind man

Megan FebuaryDecember 5, 2019poem, poetry, women writersComment

The Rules

One.
Don’t wear that outfit.
If you wear eye liner that’s too thick
Or a skirt that’s too short,
Then you are asking for trouble.

Megan FebuaryNovember 26, 2019poetry, me too, sexual assault, poem, writing, small press, literary magazine Comment

Two Years, Still Undiagnosed

My flesh has become paper thin, folded
into books on your shelf
until the spines split.

Megan FebuaryNovember 21, 2019illness, poem, body, invisible illnessComment

My Body

my body has been my body before i was allowed to paint my nails /
or wear makeup / or shave my small tan legs in mom’s clean white tub /
as i giggled and hugged myself / because this is what big girls did

Megan FebuaryNovember 12, 2019body, poem, poetry, literary magazineComment

3 Weeks and 4 Days

Mind is numb, it's hard to focus. Attention to task can't be kept.
Chest is heavy, massive weight has been placed.
With every breath a strain to inhale. Body is exhausted, sleep is a companion:
Its friendship allows for an escape.

Megan FebuaryOctober 30, 2019poetry, poem, grief, lossComment

The Body of Water

At last, we bow, empty of bitterness.
Let it drift, cleanse, rinse.
Wash with peaceful caress--
Body of water.

Megan FebuaryOctober 28, 2019poem, poetry, poetsComment

Body Insecurities

so please treat your body
like a friend
you don’t have to find it
beautiful
you don’t even have
to love it

Megan FebuaryOctober 8, 2019body, poem, insecurity, writer, writing, blogComment

How We Occupy The Body

Like many of us, I spent years getting angry at my body for not doing the things I wanted it to do, not being the things I wanted it to be. Things I had seen would gain me acceptance.

Megan FebuarySeptember 23, 2019writer, body, body love, acceptance, love yourself, poem, essayComment

Catch a Falling Knife

*poem inspired by Cavat’s incarcerated female students

You tried to baptize yourself in toilet water and
As guards dragged you away, you cried Mama, Mamita
As though she could hear you through steel and brick.