balloon
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by Jane Shi
I grasp for things the things
aren’t mine I grasp for things that aren’t
mine fish out detritus bend my neck towards flesh
of my neck a bite from an anglerfish from your histories
you bite into my neck I grasp for things that aren’t mine remain
stiff turn my body toward goblet of decoy toward what is not yet mine
consider mine-ness is a weight pressing on skin an overgrown tattoo needle
but what if it could be air in balloon lung buoy pockets filled with bubblegum
from frozen trees wind from your favourite ancestor’s breath blowing away all words
words trapped in chinks of acrylic nail scars feel what each other feels via ocean lantern
ABOUT THE CREATOR
Jane Shi is a queer Chinese settler living on the unceded, traditional, and ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Her writing can be found in Briarpatch Magazine, The Fiddlehead, and the Disability Visibility Project blog, among others. She wants to live in a world where love is not a limited resource, land is not mined, hearts are not filched, and bodies are not violated. @pipagaopoetry on Instagram and Twitter.
