i was born
from my father's womb,
in the earliest and darkest hours of the sabbath,
diagnosed with a failure of the heart and a cruel tongue,
these afflictions of mine
(not unlike most of my ugliest traits)
genetic/inherited
from him.
//
the rest of my siblings were birthed
by my mother,
softer and healthier than i ever was.
still i tried to be more like them,
distanced myself from the one who birthed me,
got surgery to repair the damage to my bleeding heart,
laughed more,
cried alone in silent bathroom stalls;
//
all to no avail.
//
my heart still does not work, despite the medication,
the (great) depression is a chronic illness that will never fade,
i am still like my father even though i try not to be.
//
- a story about my heart condition and my dad
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the failings of a surgically healed heart | a collection
Poetry「 WATTYS 2019 WINNER 」 the failings of a surgically healed heart, is a series of autobiographical poems arranged into six thematic parts to form a collection which examines the idea of the collective and how that informs individual. i. family an exp...
