Nicole Li (17)
creation myth with milk
After Kaveh Akbar
I.
Nüwa makes the first man out of clay
& milk, & he totters with unsteady legs
& milky eyes towards some unseen light.
act of creation: the earth’s bowels filling
with something white and cool.
II.
the babies are suckling milk. their tiny fists
clenching & kneading open breasts,
flower-like. their bones hardening, stretching,
filling with milk also. the marrow is milk.
they cry sweet & milk tears.
III.
i’m in my room. listening. milk is on
the radio like always, predicting an afternoon
that is slightly cloudy & milk. i smile
& put on my rain boots, which track milk
around the house & are milk themselves
IV.
mother’s ghost drinks milk from the fridge
in the middle of the night just like the white
fat man with pupil-less eyes & a milk mouth
that decides if i am good or not. milk
taps my shingles as i dream of it.
V.
my spine starts dripping onto the sidewalk so
i hold it in place like a wiggly tooth & do a
damn good job i think since no one sees but
then my ribs lungs heart all melt
& i am a puddle of milk
VI.
am i drowning?
(can i drown in myself?)
Why I’ve Never Been to Jiangxi, China
because the countryside was beautiful but selfish / because our backs curved like rice sickles
in the sun / because grandma sold yóu tiáo on the streets every day / because she was content
but he wanted more / because the night flexed menacing fingers / because the mountain roads
were treacherous / because a pig was slaughtered on a dull blade / because a lady chopped her
own arm off / because that lady was my great-aunt / because the birds smoked cigarettes / /
because there was only one train ticket out / because the Cultural Revolution was a
revolution in blood / because a boy pulled himself apart by the bones / because he
painstakingly rebuilt himself / because my father’s ambition outgrew his body
Nicole Li is a recent high school graduate living in Shanghai. Other than writing, she enjoys making lists, discovering new podcasts, and petting other people’s cats. She hopes magic finds you today.
creation myth with milk
After Kaveh Akbar
I.
Nüwa makes the first man out of clay
& milk, & he totters with unsteady legs
& milky eyes towards some unseen light.
act of creation: the earth’s bowels filling
with something white and cool.
II.
the babies are suckling milk. their tiny fists
clenching & kneading open breasts,
flower-like. their bones hardening, stretching,
filling with milk also. the marrow is milk.
they cry sweet & milk tears.
III.
i’m in my room. listening. milk is on
the radio like always, predicting an afternoon
that is slightly cloudy & milk. i smile
& put on my rain boots, which track milk
around the house & are milk themselves
IV.
mother’s ghost drinks milk from the fridge
in the middle of the night just like the white
fat man with pupil-less eyes & a milk mouth
that decides if i am good or not. milk
taps my shingles as i dream of it.
V.
my spine starts dripping onto the sidewalk so
i hold it in place like a wiggly tooth & do a
damn good job i think since no one sees but
then my ribs lungs heart all melt
& i am a puddle of milk
VI.
am i drowning?
(can i drown in myself?)
Why I’ve Never Been to Jiangxi, China
because the countryside was beautiful but selfish / because our backs curved like rice sickles
in the sun / because grandma sold yóu tiáo on the streets every day / because she was content
but he wanted more / because the night flexed menacing fingers / because the mountain roads
were treacherous / because a pig was slaughtered on a dull blade / because a lady chopped her
own arm off / because that lady was my great-aunt / because the birds smoked cigarettes / /
because there was only one train ticket out / because the Cultural Revolution was a
revolution in blood / because a boy pulled himself apart by the bones / because he
painstakingly rebuilt himself / because my father’s ambition outgrew his body
Nicole Li is a recent high school graduate living in Shanghai. Other than writing, she enjoys making lists, discovering new podcasts, and petting other people’s cats. She hopes magic finds you today.
