My Blood Thinners Make Me a Prophet
and haven’t i always wished / for a cloud rather / than this / solid and functioning body / and how all along / i was heavy / with liquid / refusing to release itself / my ache calls forth the rain / so long i’ve been writing / my histories / into a clenched fist / an empire of blood knots / in my left iliac vein / the clot clenches its gnarled fingers/ an ancient pain / a silent sob / my voice curled / into the cave of my throat / like an animal gone to die / my body of disaster / in a year / a lineage of disaster / then i was just / a girl / bloodied and running / now i make eyes / at men without fear / no one can kill me / better than me
Anna Binkovitz is a Minnesota-based writer and organizer. A graduate of the Sarah Lawrence College MFA program, Binkovitz is the founder of Landline Literary. Anna’s work has been named a finalist for the 2020 Pamet River Prize and has appeared or is forthcoming in Lunch Ticket, SWWIM, The Shallow Ends and elsewhere. More: annabinkovitz.com + Twitter @poemsabouttoast