Listen to Sarah Lao read her poem:
I
I come home in the evenings
to Mother scraping my scalp for God.
To ward off the lice: she pulls my hair
to Mother scraping my scalp for God.
To ward off the lice: she pulls my hair
up with a ribbon & tells me to face the home altar:
the lamplight spilling & God’s face: peeking out,
yolk-colored & shameless. Because I study faces:
the lamplight spilling & God’s face: peeking out,
yolk-colored & shameless. Because I study faces:
I count lashes until dark icons wink
& molt in my image: a specter: no:
a parasite: no: a reckless fluency in pigment:
& molt in my image: a specter: no:
a parasite: no: a reckless fluency in pigment:
Yes. The altar shimmering into a mirror:
I let vanity out to take hold of what it must.
Leave a pear: flagrant & bitten through: as offering.
I let vanity out to take hold of what it must.
Leave a pear: flagrant & bitten through: as offering.
II
Twice in a sporadic dream I turn sexless
in fear As in intimacy worn bitter & blue
in fear As in intimacy worn bitter & blue
Nights I lie to touch myself without reason
As in blameless light silk ribbons unspooled
As in blameless light silk ribbons unspooled
into the whip of a flagellant & Mother lies
in her rough halo of hair limning the fringes
in her rough halo of hair limning the fringes
of my shadow into thread Mother could never
recognize who was there
recognize who was there
III
Her grief: a steepled beast with no tongue.
I teach her with the prongs of a fork
how to pronounce the th in thank
I teach her with the prongs of a fork
how to pronounce the th in thank
& place the stress of amen there on the men.
All the lush syllables to sickle for a vanishing.
But Mother’s always liked the tongue of the God
All the lush syllables to sickle for a vanishing.
But Mother’s always liked the tongue of the God
in the television best: how the family gives
a circle of thanks: how the Mother’s tongue
pushes out her cheek as if it rolled around
a circle of thanks: how the Mother’s tongue
pushes out her cheek as if it rolled around
a stone to uncork her speech.
Read the other prize-winning works from the Sixth Annual Narrative High School Writing Contest:
“Ivy” by Aman Rahman
“Aubade in the Aftermath” by Elane Kim
And see our interview with Sarah Lao and Javier Zamora
“Aubade in the Aftermath” by Elane Kim
And see our interview with Sarah Lao and Javier Zamora
