by Katherine Montalto
*This is an interactive work. To hear the theme song, click here.*
This Is Why I Don’t Go On Trips
If I am a matchstick, then my body is a packet
designed to be lit by just one strike.
If love is a liquid poured inside of me, then my
heart is a basket. My sister says I am a pearl
and I need to start acting like one, but pearls
are worn on necks as a sign of wealth. Is that
why men at home wear their hickey on me
as a sign of ownership?
I am trapped in my skin and I want a one-way
ticket to a place where I can breathe, but
countries outside my home have uncles that grope
you to check if you wore a bra underneath. And
aunties that say what your uncle did is typical.
I want to travel by land but that’s where they all
are. And if I choose to travel by sea, I fear that my
ship may drown for my trauma is too heavy to carry.
A flight won’t be bad but I’m already lightheaded,
a bit more and my mind may vaporise into thin air.
Yvonne Nezianya is a Nigerian writer, (performance) poet and a final year student of Health Education at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. She writes to tell silenced stories of young girls and people facing mental health issues. Her short story, Wonders of Spirits, was shortlisted for the K and L Prize 2020. Her works have and will appear in the Micah Anthology by Poets in Nigeria, Black Skin No Mask Anthology, The African Writers Review, Afritondo, Green Black Tales, and elsewhere. Connect with her on Instagram @yvonnenezy_writes and Twitter @nezi_yvonne.
Katherine Montalto is an artist, writer, and weirdo. A long time ago she was a chef. Her non-fiction work has been featured in Detroit Metro Times. Her poetry has appeared in Juked and her fiction in Feed Your Monster and Medusa Laughing Press. Her artwork is in the permanent collection of the MONA Museum of New Art Detroit. See her work at KatherineMontalto.com