REBIRTH - Satsuki Nakaya
This body, so recently reformed,
still carries the marks of its time.
my trance before the mirror broke
“Not my best side, I’m afraid.”
freshness was fading, they just dont heal up like a wish.
With these scars I carry with me,
with a shield for a heart and a sword for a tongue
No fear; but a hesitation, a holding of the spiritual breath.
I rise again.
Adapted from:
Carter, Angela. “The Bloody Chamber.” The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories. Penguin, 1993.
Carter, Angela. “The Courtship of Mr Lyon.” The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories. Penguin, 1993.
Denise, Anna. “How to Change a Frog into a Prince.” Library of Congress, Poetry 180, 2003. https://www.loc.gov/programs/poetry-and-literature/poet-laureate/poet-laureate-projects/poetry-180/all-poems/item/poetry-180-176/how-to-change-a-frog-into-a-prince/.
Duffy, Carol Ann. “Medusa.” The World’s Wife. Picador, 1999.
Fanthorpe, U.A. “Not my Best Side.” Selected Poems. Enitharmon Press, 2014.
Sexton, Anne. “Cinderella.” Transformations. Mariner Books, 1971.
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