A Vocal Wound – By Kassie-Anne Kalloo

Look at me the way a doctor examines a wound

Careful, attentive

Nervous.

You hope you know what lies beneath the damage,

The tissue

The blood

Every laceration, a myth

Each needle becomes a sword

Invisible weaponry to battle against

Flesh and blood that I carry on dense bones,

Carry on

Towards an end miles away from your anecdote.

You say I am a question your senses cannot ignore,

A sensation of mystery answering something

You didn’t know you were asking.

Some things that glitter are far from gold,

And I, a stranger to your realm

Exist in stories untold.

Are you certain you want your unknowns

Brought to light?

Some questions are best left unanswered

But desire is not instinct

And instinct not a lie.

Yet, it is in indulging the peculiar nature of an animal,

That we feel most alive.