10/27/21 Workshop – A Poem by Tania De Rozario

A Eulogy – Tania De Rosario

for everyone poked so full

of holes, their own voice passes

through them, history escaping

the body in a series of echoes.

 

for everyone distilled into colour

of skin, choice of pronoun, place

of origin, length of hair, years, skirt,

name, limbs, medical record.

 

for everyone made to believe

that the petals of persecution

have blossomed from the buds

of their own paranoia.

 

for everyone passed over in favour

of a name that seemed easier to pronounce,

was less of an assault

to someone else’s comfort.

 

for everyone accused of prolonged

adolescence, scars on their arms

marking time like a calendar, body

taking itself into its own hands.

 

for everyone blamed

for the stare, grope, catcall, assault

that cut like glass into flesh as if

they had asked to be broken.

 

for everyone deceived

into dreaming, everyone who left home

and family to provide home

and family, returning with nothing.

 

for everyone pumped

so full of doctrine, the guilt which ate

into their bones, made them believe

breaking them was the only way out.

 

Reflective writing prompt: for everyone…