Wednesday, 25 October 2023

Poetry 2023 Longlist, Harshita Srivastava

Demons


Demons aren't red or black or grey

with a burnt face and slimy nostrils.

They look like this, they look like this.


Crickets sound like rattlesnakes,

and house-lizards seem to grow

large wings and swoop like dragons

upon my uncovered fragile head.

My head itches and itches until

I paint my nails red with blood

oozing out of that helpless dry scalp.

My weight goes up up and up,

and the bed begins to creak

as my heavy bones toss and turn.

This time, I know it will break.

A nasty cyst under my skin grows

into an unforgiving mass of pus

and blood and all things yuck.

A scratched elbow with little signs

of fungal infection gets big enough

To smother people's eyes with disgust.

The stretchmarks without pregnancy

On a flabby tummy, and a bouncy butt

begin to show from over thick layers

Of coats, clothes and concealers.


Demons aren't red or black or grey

with a burnt face and slimy nostrils.

They look like this, they look like this.

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