A tale of unraveling to become whole. This is for those who fight to live each day. For those who break and bend, but are determined to thrive anyway. Thank you for being here.
suicidal ideation
ghosts join the ranks where my dead brother reigns insistent and persistent reminding me to live but my cousin just died and i’m here playin’ hide and seek with brothers i can’t keep, so each morning i awake drowning in gratitude and dread, cry lay out funeral blacks just in case
brother’s keeper
the news struck me like a bullet wedged between clenched teeth chipping at the impact of family stories told rattling a cage where my ancient grief lays haunted by our laughter riddled with screams left only with vices we chose how quickly i let you break my mind simply because my heart loves you with no bounds but i can no longer be a safe space for violent men
cigarettes n nag champa
a rare occurrence to be in the presence of my holy Father his self-hatred litters the room my strong will flickers through the cracks of our rocky foundation he rips out my spine grips my cheeks swears between drags I'd be so pretty if it weren't for my mouth rips out my chords so I may cower before his feet
cult baby
groomed into the martyr for my holy Mother who casts me out and down a pit shadows tear and rearrange my limbs into a lover with a vengeful need to consume thighs alight with kerosene bent beyond her means pleading to false gurus to fill a growing chasm cursed between her ribs
survivor’s guilt
despite the melancholia gnawing at my arteries love me until we remember this has been done want me before our hearts kiss fate and forget to beat live in this moment with me instead of the precipice of dissociation because everyone I love those I no longer know will die someday choose me and I'll learn to receive you
below the sky
the moon illuminates
my discarded parts
shredded and oozing
a murder of crows
gawked in wonder
after picking at my bones
left to decompose
between jagged rocks
and under starlight
a coolness caressed
my tender limbs
bloody gashes stitched clean
death cocooned me whole
in a sleepy whisper, I asked
will it hurt to grow
and fly again?archetype
my hands calloused by the climb down my feet bloodied by crumbling rock my vision dulled by the descent into the darkness but the hum of life entices me inward her heartbeat is my only solace her whispers urge me toward a chrysalis shimmering below the sky my body collapses in prayer waiting for her rebirth
CHASM Copyright © 2024 Imani Scott-Smittick
All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced in any form without permission from the author/publisher.
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The darkest, deepest, most devastatingly beautiful work of theirs yet. The imagery is so dense and evocative. Absolutely love it. This collection is personal to me and I cherish it.
So talented! I love how I have to digest your work because it makes me think and feel all in one. Love the raw and vulnerability! Soooo good!