My Body is an Alphabet

With alleles like armies of angels,

belly bubbling, bones breaking,

breasts bullying my

back making it

bend like bamboo.

Cries covering my

cheeks like copper on coins,

chin curved like

closed clam shells

cruising through currents. My

dimples are daggers

dug deeper then daisy’s in dirt. My

eyes echo eclipses that

flavors my familiar face. See my

gums gnaw. See how my

heart heals when it

hears hums of hymns.

I’m intrigued by my irises, my

jolting joints, my

clever kidneys, my

loving lungs.

My mind is a

maze in a meadow

nurturing my nerves,

operating my organs,

pleasing my pulse. I

question my quivering quads. I

rely on my robust ribs. I

sing songs with my soul so loud my

tongue trembles, tickling my

unfortunate under-bite and the

vines of vessels and veins

woven within my wrists. Take

x-rays of my bones expressing their

yearn for youth.

Zoom through the

alphabet of my body.

~

My name is Shannon Cunningham and I am a Junior from Mountainside, New Jersey. I am a joint major in Creative Writing and Moral Psychology. Even though I am fairly new to writing, I have recently been focusing on poetry and non-fiction pieces. One of my favorite feminist writers whose work continues to inspire me is Maya Angelou. I hope that one day my work will echo the same amount of passion and strength that moves people in ways that make them want to read more.