Michelle Martinez

Grade: 10

Cleveland School of the Arts

Instructor: Cari Thornton

Genetic Gazpacho

Poetry

Genetic Gazpacho

Inspired by "Picabia Filter IV" By Nicole Eisenman

i don't remember where my eyes go,
nor how low or high my nose sits on my face,
(my cheekbones are lost.)
the mirror resembles alphabet soup,
things i used to recognize,
now swept away into a stew of indistinguishable features,
genetic gazpacho.
these clothes no longer fit this body,
simply mere rags that drape over a suit of skin,
meat puppet Pinocchio costuming himself in flannel.
netizen validation feeds me like gas feeds a car
and exhaust feeds the ozone layer.
do you like my arsenic eyes?
i've placed them here for you,
do you like how they sew keratoses in your cheeks
just like they do mine?
do you like how the dots on my nose light up like Rudolph,
connect them like litebrites,
let them pop and paint the room,
crimson making for a nice accent wall?

St. Nicholas, St. Vitalis

Poetry

St. Nicholas, St. Vitalis

Inspired by Magdalene with the Smoking Flame by Georges de La Tour

ripped nylon stockings,
stilettos dragging against the concrete,
you puff away like the world is your ashtray.
you wear rope like a necklace, noose for a choker.
Mary Magdalene grooms herself for her crucifixion,
gingerly primping herself for her religious debut.
a wistful arm upon the oak,
hand caressing smooth skull,
(pruned by formaldehyde.)
let the flame lick the air
and singe my hair,
face red hot and
thighs tight with a garter.