These three poems by Lucy Doherty explore the realms of relationships, otherness, and personal power…
by: Lucy Doherty
Professor I have been having the strangest dreams building a kingdom of denim. The act of creation, so small yet he said to me, “I am unworthy”. So I sent you a text and called you a puta idiota sin valor. I will prove you wrong. You will learn to fear the glint of my throat. I wonder if I’ll still hate you next week. Even if I don’t, I know that you’ll still be hateable. I’m sorry. Last night I slept like a mathematician. In Viroqua I slept like a lover, and it felt exactly the same. Next week I will sleep like those dark clouds that creep ever closer over Lake Michigan.
Cain To My Abel Despite my black and white brain, I exist in the gray space Yet my intricate sentence structure betrays my twitching fingers My knuckles bruised and my cheekbones dusted with blood vessels I want to be stereotyped, I want to be classified Would you believe me if I scribbled over my spreadsheets? If I laughed a little louder or bared my teeth or talked to myself in public? Would you believe me if my poetry was bad? I’ll let you disrespect me if you’ll take care of me Pointer and index finger at my temple, extend my thumb 90 degrees To the best of my disability
How to Reject Your Guy Friends Be careful while saying goodbye, They always take their last chance to strike. You can talk them down with not one, but Two peace offerings. That’s how you pacify them. One lie that could be the truth One truth that feels like a lie And with one burning flash of eyes, you’ve turned them to stone. You’re back in your statue garden all alone.
Lucy Doherty is a writer and student with a passion for disability advocacy. Her work has been published in Sage Cigarettes Magazine, Ice Lolly Review, Unpublishable Zine, ChicagoTalks, and elsewhere. She published the chapbook Secrets in 2020.
