Lorrie Ness

Body Cartography

I know body in terms of permission,
every part sounding like my mother’s voice
yes-ing / no-ing. She had a judgement
for every sort of flesh. A gridmap
anchored by place. My mother was first
to survey and break my skin
into zones. My whole body
became a cartography of borders.
I’ve lost my way on this map
where every town shares two names.
No label for the gully where collarbone
blends with shoulder. Her schematics
ignore how touching my neck
is felt in my thighs. When I asked her
about my lips, she had no lessons
for the body’s homonyms.
Both of them yes? Both of them no?
It’s her voice I hear when my body is hungry,
grinding its way through the night.

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Lorrie Ness is an emerging poet working in Virginia. Her work can be found at Palette Poetry, THRUSH Poetry Journal, Typishly and various other journals. In 2019 she was nominated for a Best of the Net Award by Sky Island Journal.