"another tin woman" by Nikia Chaney

another tin woman

the tin woman is not deity nor queen no

fist no flower she does not
have limbs

nor does she rotate round her
ball frame
she is not pearl held in

the hand squeezed and released back on broken flint

made firm and her
skin does not peel off to reveal under

the silver
sap something liquid clean peach she is not

beauty shimmering terminal guise not steel
framed not

lashes of copper
not buttoned
not brushed

nor tresses of wire lean that I or
you or

he or they unbraid and baby she does not say

just borrow my face or please

(she cannot speak) I just need you to love
me for she

this made thing written and crafted unbuild
waits
for the sunset’s long

fingers of light to burn away the scars from

the end of well-meaning slurs
for the unneed of having
to mask

and bake self into box
gadget and rig it always the brown

clay in ware

Photo Credit: Staff