By Maya Salameh
i will piece myself back together by
the crux of entwined lashes
at the apex of my eyes
where memories meet mind and mind mars
memories.
i will domestically consolidate my
assets with the bindings
of my dna — the weak hydrogen
bonds and the supplement vitamin
gummy strong of family
and the nitrogenous bases
of my internal faraway can’t-confiscate-conceal-or-carry
places. i will laugh
and reunite my pettily peddling
provinces under an iron fist.
forever kissed. surrender i miss.
i have reconciled
with myself two, ten, twelve times
terribly and before. there is a terrible
beauty in loving your rocky
beaches. the coast is only complete with
its jagged
pieces. so make peace or at least
allow an artful armistice, for
i will post
memos on my hipbones to remind
me of the power in my curved unnerved lips.
forget about truth, chip at my tooth
and crystallize your youth.
it’ll last longer than rock
candy if you don’t chew. with
cheek enough for two, your
reckoning is due — turn in to you.
me reuniré
je me reunirai
saatahed
i will reunite in all of my languages
in every code coddled under my control
for leaving is a lost liberty and
learning is love lyricized, liberated and above all loyal
now what have i forgotten?
the sticky notes have fallen off of my
midsection midway between
the unhappy
middle and that
snappy curt unfinishedness
to reveal a confidence
in tatters and tattoos and yellowing in every
incompleted partial credit
bruise. brokenness is my
breed of beauty
and i will forever
endure in the notes you deem
unsure. the detour i never
meant to make,
the moment
i know i won’t ever break.
Maya Salameh, a member of the National Student Poets Program, is a 16-year-old student at the School of International Studies at San Diego High School. She read this poem at the San Diego Unified School District’s “Celebration of Light” event Wednesday at Ballard Parent Center.
