—Qurbani Eid
No, I said, I want
to watch them behead
the goat
with the men.
Her eyes glistened
as the scythe sang
down
her neck
and spine. I’m proud
of you, the uncles said. It is
important
to observe
death. Her hoof, cleaved
from her shin. Her belly.
Everywhere
I looked
was trickling ant-shadow.
Pleasant banter. Her blood.
The aunts
came out
to slide the chopped acres
of her into hissing oil
and onion,
She was
steam—sift and spice-bold.
I ate her between my cousins,
licked
my palm across
the blood-gravy of what was left
on the filigreed china. Yes,
I savored
her more than
once: first with rice, then with
chutney. My first death. I felt
curious,
conflicted. Satisfied.
2018
Regular
Contemporary
Childhood & Coming of Age
Death & Loss
Faith & Hope
Family
Food
Intersectionality & Culture
Strength & Resilience
Violence & War
Womanhood
Dialogue
conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or movie
Extended Metaphor
a metaphor that extends through several lines or even an entire poem
Imagery
visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in a literary work
Personification
the attribution of human qualities to a non-human thing
Sensory Detail
words used to invoke the five senses (vision, hearing, taste, touch, smell)