"o" by Moxxy Rogers

i woke up this morning on the edge of my breath

holding a current

in between the gaps of my crooked teeth

something quite awful curdles beneath my bed

when the wild geese run down the spine of my back

i’ll reach for a cold spot in the covers

and pull out my father’s latest apology

it is probably my fault for making him feel guilty

while the back of my eyes ache

pockets of lingering souvenirs tuck me in every night

this gripping,

this gasping,

this gutted,

im chattering against this winter, and the spring

still, so sweet, waits for me to wake up

& falling into an empty rage

a monster no bigger than the door frame

holds me with eyes that look like mine

“i’m sorry” it roars

“i didn’t mean it” it bemoans

“you made me do it” it wretches

i roll over and bury myself in the moonlight

Moxxy Rogers is a Pacific Northwest based Spoken Word Artist, Poet and Media Producer whose work has been featured in Pathos Literary Magazine, The Saving Daylight Zine, Pile Press, Carolina Muse, NAILED Magazine and other local publications. She graduated from Portland State University with her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a Focus on Poetry and a Minor in Film Studies.

Moxxy has also worked with the Portland Playhouse to perform her original poetry in their productions of Joy Comes In the Mourning and The Sounds of Afrolitical Movement, and has been selected as a featured poet two years in a row for the Oregon Writers of Color Spring Showcase hosted by Ooligan Press and Literary Arts.

She is currently earning her MA in Poetry and MFA in Playwriting at Wilkes University.

Her poems and short films can be found on her Instagram @moxxymay.poetry.