"The Weight" by Juanita Rey

The Weight

a drumstick
is a whale,
flagging like
a drunkard
in an American port city —

who are you, girl,
what have you done to yourself —

it’s the body,
experiences put weight on it,
and the face . . .
an accordion in a previous life —

at least I’m getting smarter,
sez I,
as I reexamine
the bulky dumb things
that rule like fat
my memory’s waist —

mujer gorda!
that’s who you are —

mujer gorda
from the island of whales
not drumsticks —

then he has to say
he likes me the way I am —

cool waves may lap at stones
but they do not brighten them

Juanita rey

Juanita Rey is a Dominican poet who has been in the U.S. for five years. Her work has been published in Mixed Mag, The Mantle, and The Art Of Everyone. 

Headshot: Clive Easterwood

Photo Credit: Staff