– Fathers
one day
men
will realise
they too
gave birth
and they will
notice scars
where they
removed
their child
– Wounds
look at me.
i don’t want to
heal scars
mask marks
and hide stains
that have soaked
to your bones
who am i
to remove
the essence
of you?
show me your wounds
let me love them
let me have wounds too
– Ethnicity
baby
please don’t cut yourself
up into eights, halves and quarters
it makes it harder to hold you
– Abuse
how can you spit
where you had slept
and hit
skin
of the country
you lived in
*
Jemima Khalli is a graduate of English Literature & Creative Writing from Liverpool. Her debut poetry collection Lands was published in 2017.
All work is the rightful property of the author and is distributed with their permission.