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.