Magdalena Kamphausen (18)
the elephant on my ribcage
Honorable Mention in the Ribs Contest
you see, when I let you tattoo the elephant on my ribcage, I’d forgotten about how much it would hurt
how much it would pain me to see it stretch and shrink as my body ballooned and bared itself within the same year, its wide feet trailing atop stretch marks and sallow skin
how much it would scar me to know that I was leaving you 13 hours behind and headed for another continent with no more than a yellow night of card games and ragged conversations
you know, when I let you tattoo the elephant on my ribcage, I didn’t know how much it would heal
how much it would soothe me to have peace with the many places and faces I’d begun to call home—you and the elephant both now a part of me, though the two of you still remain worlds apart
how much it would cheer me that I held a piece of my brightest days beside my heart, that brought twinkling whispers and giggles from friends when I told them of my tattooist’s wild escapades alongside me over the years
you know, when I let you tattoo the elephant on my ribcage, I didn’t know how much it would halve
how much it would splinter me inside to have to say goodbye to something I loved so deeply with barely enough time to recognize its beauty and light
how it much would fester beside my darkened heart that at the same time yearned for me to dye my hair the color of the sky while just sitting and begging someone to tell me why
so you see, when I let you tattoo that elephant on my ribcage, I didn’t know how much it would remind me that I was alive, getting older, its trunk lifted towards my hurting, healing, halved heart.
Magdalena Kamphausen is a student who has spent half of her lifetime living abroad in Southeast Asia and the other in the USA. She has a soft spot for comic books, emotional poetry, and rock n’ roll. She has been writing poems and short stories, painting, and making music for as long as she can remember.
the elephant on my ribcage
Honorable Mention in the Ribs Contest
you see, when I let you tattoo the elephant on my ribcage, I’d forgotten about how much it would hurt
how much it would pain me to see it stretch and shrink as my body ballooned and bared itself within the same year, its wide feet trailing atop stretch marks and sallow skin
how much it would scar me to know that I was leaving you 13 hours behind and headed for another continent with no more than a yellow night of card games and ragged conversations
you know, when I let you tattoo the elephant on my ribcage, I didn’t know how much it would heal
how much it would soothe me to have peace with the many places and faces I’d begun to call home—you and the elephant both now a part of me, though the two of you still remain worlds apart
how much it would cheer me that I held a piece of my brightest days beside my heart, that brought twinkling whispers and giggles from friends when I told them of my tattooist’s wild escapades alongside me over the years
you know, when I let you tattoo the elephant on my ribcage, I didn’t know how much it would halve
how much it would splinter me inside to have to say goodbye to something I loved so deeply with barely enough time to recognize its beauty and light
how it much would fester beside my darkened heart that at the same time yearned for me to dye my hair the color of the sky while just sitting and begging someone to tell me why
so you see, when I let you tattoo that elephant on my ribcage, I didn’t know how much it would remind me that I was alive, getting older, its trunk lifted towards my hurting, healing, halved heart.
Magdalena Kamphausen is a student who has spent half of her lifetime living abroad in Southeast Asia and the other in the USA. She has a soft spot for comic books, emotional poetry, and rock n’ roll. She has been writing poems and short stories, painting, and making music for as long as she can remember.
