speaking p[l]ainly

today I reckoned
the universe conspired against me
my name it hearkened
I surrendered to it completely

claimed territory
over my folds and orifices
inflammatory
conquered even my crevices

pain, this universal, mother tongue
I learned her well / speak unaccented

permission to live
with saline drips and surgical tricks
found comfort in love,
and art: tales, poems, and shutter clicks

therefore, I reasoned
the universe conspired against me
but never managed
to break me the way that you broke me

Zahraa Chorghay

Zahraa Chorghay occasionally attempts self-expression through art, calling upon her understanding of science, her experience surviving chronic illness, and her existence at the intersections of multiple self-identities.

How many horcruxes do I have left? She-whose-name-will-inevitably-be-mispronounced Mischief and no longer a mistress ...

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If I cut a hole in my chest, An assertion on penance An exchange ...

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Instead of running away, sometimes, it’s important that we run into and examine the ...

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We are born ready to heal Life is traumatic from the get-go Birth. Wailing, ...

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I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t articulate it. Yet for every word I couldn’t ...

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