fuck the day and its obligation i am awake, aware, pulsating but never prepared whatever the daylight gives me I’m forced to take and live with after
daytime makes blood spill out of mama’s mouth now we’re related to
the aftermath of its mixing with tissue paper and toilet water
during nightfall, at least I can blame it all on my unconsciousness the lilting hum of the heater
but this time, i am told that i should know better than my sprawled self
in my dreams, i would have never gone to his house that metal table that kitchen cabinet
Dena Igustiis an Indonesian-Muslim poet who survives off of dollar pizzas and Tropical Fantasy sodas in Queens, New York. She is currently the co-founder of Short Line!, an organization dedicated to connecting artists to their communities, to each other, to resources, and to themselves. She is a 2018 NYC Youth Poet Laureate Ambassador, and 2017 Urban Word Federal Hall Fellow. Her work has been featured in Thread, Quail Bell Magazine, Teen Vogue, and the production In Full Color.
