after Suji Kwock Kim
Soon there will be only noise :
an eruption of scent sharp like
blood you’ve never known tears
like these my curse is subtle as is
the curse of my child who you will
bury shallow in the ground without
a second thought this green girl
bursting from my chest impossible
to ignore precious fruit of the lawn
I teach her to whisper to the grass
to coax chives from plain blades so
our pungent army may grow strong
what a word : blade the name
of our death the instrument of our
extinction inevitable as night soon
it will come for you but before that
day spread your arms : unleash hell.
Rita Mookerjee is an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies at Worcester State University. She is the winner of the 2023 Steel Toe Books Poetry Award and the author of False Offering (JackLeg Press). Her poems can be found in CALYX, Copper Nickel, Poet Lore, New Orleans Review, and the Offing. You can find her on Twitter at @RitaMookerjee and on Instagram at @melanincholia