“But the anger slept beside me

And awoke with me”

“Let go of

What has been taught to you

And push it far enough

That you can truly see”

“My guilt for pleasure

Has generalized to all things joyful

Compounded by the abusive touches

To my mind body and spirit”

“If I showed what was truly within

All the shadows

That decorate my walls

What would you do”

“And here I am

At the edge of my seat

At the mercy of time”

“I am a Cambodian woman

I am the extension of my mother, my grandmother, and her mother”

“That’s why I am going to post everyday this month, starting today, up till my birthday. That’s 26 daily posts!”

“I let go

And in a breath

Expand

To let you in”

“There’s something about that spotlight

That I can’t stand”

“Just as the consumerism

That dirties our minds

So too are the excess sounds

That we hoard”

“I called for you

Did you ever hear me?”

“My movement is my resistance”

“I have been taught

That my body isn’t mine

Through messages

Audible and invisible”

“I know that at the core

You desire to help me

But your actions often say different”

“With fresh supple skin

I hesitate next to my shell

With one hand on

And rapid eyes scanning the changing horizon”

“Living simulations

Sharing atoms through breath

Pulling on the tethers

Across time”

“Sensations flood

On

Through

And between the limits of my skin

Filling all that I am”

“Like air

You flow through every orifice

At my grasp”

“Because when I am connected

To love

I am love

And love knows no bounds”

“Memories bubble up

Feelings are still

In the drips of imagery”