h o l y / w a r by McKenzie Chinn
h o l y / w a r
McKenzie Chinnthat the sight of my bare thigh might ever be more threat
than god dream sounds like a you problem.if my mere thigh might render
any action you’d take unholy, maybeyour mama forgot to teach you something.
let’s call it what it is:that the glory of just my thigh
is so great, it makes you want children.the glory of just my thigh
makes a praise dance rise within you, andhow it breaks me
that a praise dance in anyone could become so grotesque,can contort into a war you’d wage
on a body that would open itselflike some soil tilled in a promised land,
a body that would bear you forth in perpetuity.eve ain’t caused adam to fall. the man made a choice
and would chose the same again, andfuck an apple, he would’ve walked barefoot
over a field of thorns if it meant her breath soft in his ear,her heart alive against his, and
his hand in prayer against her thigh.helen’s face ain’t launched 1,000 ships;
men’s foolishness did that.i want this body and all it renders possible—
the dance, the gather, the bend, the bringing forth—to be your church. let a reverence
for all i encompass found your new religion.learn to love what i make move within you
like you love the sun which gives you life.do not become war
because my thigh is so great.
KEEP READING
SHARED WITH GRATITUDE
This poem appeared in Sundog Lit, Issue 12.
ABOUT MCKENZIE CHINN
McKenzie is an award-winning writer, director, and actor based in Chicago. Driven by a revolutionary sensibility, her work uses rich imagery and a deeply personal lens to explore the lives, relationships, and ambitions of those who experience marginalization based on their identities, with her storytelling rooted in sensuality, everyday magic, and the beauty of the ordinary. McKeznie was named IFA Chicago’s inaugural Breakthrough Voice Award recipient in 2022, and is a 2021… (more)
Read more poems by McKenzie Chinn • Find books by this poet on Amazon • Bookshop • Follow on Instagram • Website • Or view my library
ENDNOTES
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