¿Cómo se siente?
And other questions I am afraid to ask my father
Amen, says the Christian, a good man, my father,
Before his bastard
Child was born, wedlock wrapped around my waist like a
Dark horse’s toothsome restraint.
Entitled to only your ethereal words through postcards and candy, tell me, do you
Flinch when you see me now? Does your identity
Glitch when your second child reveals any piece of
Herself to you? Do you see anything of yourself
In me, or am I just my mother’s baby, a
Johnson, not quite a Gonzales? Never mind the
Kaleidoscope of your epigenetics, written like a story on my DNA,
Lessons to be learned, pain to be felt, colors to be seen.
My memories are yours, but somehow you are not among them. My
Numbered fingers can display how many times I’ve seen you. Does my
Obstinance toward authority disturb you? Or does it reassure you that your
Parenting wouldn’t have stood a chance anyway? That my
Questions would have out-answered your responses, and my
Relentlessness would have calcified your standards into stalactites.
Self-sown by seed, and estranged from you unwittingly, do you wish you could know me?
Truthfully, when we first met, did you regret every moment of your existence
Untouched by my hands and feet and laugh? Have you unraveled the grief,
Ventured into the galaxy of what we could not have? Do you
Wonder, “What made her wise?” when you look into my eyes? Do you see the
Xylophone of my heart, each key tied to strings strung back to where
You could have been? I hope you wish you could have watched my journey from
Zygote in womb, to daughter to dreamer, child to woman.
About the Creator
Prairie Johnson
If we are going to transform the world, we must begin with ourselves. I write what is inside of me so that you might find what is inside of you.
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RESILIENCE
The date was 16th April, 2024. I will never forget that day for as long as I live. We woke up early in the morning and drove to the Police Station at around 6 am to pick up two officers for police escort. We drove past my village after picking up few more escorts and we journeyed onward to a remote school that we needed to visit. The school is about 3 hours away from the town but depending on the weather and road condition, it could take more hours than that.
By Emos Sibu Poriei (Kaya)3 days ago in Poets
Comments (43)
Stunning, Prairie! Every line in this poem is incredible in its own way but these lines in particular jumped right out at me: "does it reassure you that your Parenting wouldn’t have stood a chance anyway? That my Questions would have out-answered your responses, and my Relentlessness would have calcified your standards into stalactites." Congrats on your win!
As a Mhyre and a Reyes (who I didn't meet until I was 22 years old), I felt every word in my blood. Thank you for sharing. Well done, congratulations! 👏
Congratulations Prairie!
So moving and relatable.
Outstanding !!!
This is gorgeous, and the last sentence is genius. This line in particular wowed me, "Never mind the Kaleidoscope of your epigenetics, written like a story on my DNA," Such a stunning way to describe the depth of someone's impact.
Poignant and raw and beautifully written
Ok, fair dos, no wonder this won. Outstanding.
This is beautiful! Congratulations on your win.
you pulled my heartstrings -- gerat work
Incredible work and you deserve all your love and attention for this outstanding masterpiece of poignancy and intensity
This is mesmerizing and full of truth and intimacies that are spellbinding. Your strong lyrical revelations and ponderings are so powerful - this read like it all spilled from your mouth. Beautiful writing, and so deserving of the win. Congratulations!
Evoking is the word that comes to mind with this. Evoking thoughts, emotions, images, memories. Brilliant work
I never thought an abecedarian poem could be so emotionally moving! Thank you, Prairie, for this wonder-full poem and for opening my eyes to the range of this form.
A special eloquence emerges when candor and anger are combined. Your poem is powerful!
A sad but beautiful poem. You use lovely imagery to talk about painful feelings, and this demonstrates great skill. Wonderful job. Congratulations 🎊
Congratulations, Prairie Johnson! Beautifully written piece!
Wow, this is amazing!! Congratulations on a very well deserved win! The abecedarian format fits seamlessly with the emotion of this piece. I honestly forgot that it was an abecedarian as I was reading, which to me makes it all the more well crafted and powerful.
So raw and full of pain, yet so beautifully written! Congrats’
Absolutely stunning, congratulations! This is a really beautiful piece 🥲👏
powerful!
Congratulations
Well deserved win!!!
Well done!
Powerful storytelling. Masterfully told. Congratulations, well done. 💕