Antiprayer, 2
Teach me to swallow beginnings,
broach the surface of every thing.
At night, I duck beneath the stars,
extract the wishbone, and stroke
souvenirs, the spoils of the dead
from the rubble of three cities.
Here is a diamond that has been
swallowed over and over
by a holocaust victim
until it finally cuts her insides,
until skin has moldered long enough
it can be draped over the bones.
Kristine Ong Muslim's poems and stories have appeared or are forthcoming in many places. These include Bellevue Literary Review, Chronogram, Cordite, Lily, elimae, The Pedestal Magazine, Porcupine Literary Arts Magazine, T-Zero, and Turnrow. Her publication history can be found at: www.freewebs.com/blackroom8. (blackroom8@yahoo.com)