The first thing I put on was my bra
A silky balm against my raw heart
Letters sprinkled on by abracadabra
A B C D E F- -college-level art
The restless As sparkling-singing
Flinging all the other ‘phabets into shadows
My chest beat like eagle’s wings
Rising, Falling, sure in its credo
Next, I reached for my T-shirt
And shuffled it over flickering flesh
I felt firmer-with the scrawls on my back
The seal of membership in “cool club”
And then I added on panties and pants, stamped
With collages of motion, emotion “n” lotion
From that time on the freezing bus, smiling-
That day on the beach, crying-that night
When I got the news, laughing-in math class
I still had friends-
Now it’s all undone, my laces-
My mascara has run, my lashes
Have flapped-fluttered onto the floor
My panties and pants have slid off
Memories-crumbled and crushed-
I am left with the vapors of philia,
My T-shirt torn-my clubmates gone
And you keep on tugging-tearing
I want all-I can give you some
I want all-My bra loose-the As limp
I want all-I want blood and flesh-
Nothing more.
—
Iyeyinka Omigbodun ’16 is a Social Anthropology concentrator in Eliot House.