share


Bad Daughters

After Frannie Choi

 

leaving, good daughters staying home with the light switched on. bad daughters find

god in the pulpit of a man, lay their ear to his chest and listen to the hum of his

holy spirit. good daughters wash the dishes, bad daughters wash in rivers under

an unfolding moon, dance as the silver splits their skin. bad daughters sip

and then gulp and then swallow, good daughters smile without show-

ing teeth bad daughters pick at the skin around their thumbs

praying the loose end will keep unravelling, bad daughters

fray, only when they are alone, especially when they

know god is not listening, good daughters ask

for permission and forgiveness, bad daugh-

ters take what is there, swear

they’ll never do it again,

promise to be better

in the morning.


ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

is a Brit(ish) poet, born to a Jamaican mother and a Nigerian father. Based in South London, Lola uses her work to explore blackness, family, and loss. Lola is currently a member of Griot’s Well, is an alumn of the Roundhouse Poetry Collective and Barbican Young Poets, and was a finalist in the 2021 Roundhouse Poetry Slam.



READ NEXT

poetry

September 2016

Two Poems

Daisy Lafarge

poetry

September 2016

siphoning   habitual catalogue of the day, intro ft. blossom fallen from a gated property and crisping on the...

poetry

February 2016

[from] What It Means to Be Avant-Garde

Anna Moschovakis

poetry

February 2016

This is an excerpt from the middle of a longer poem. The full poem is in Moschovakis’s forthcoming book,...

feature

October 2012

Film: Palestinian Airlines

Eddie Wrey

feature

October 2012

    Palestinian Airlines Produced and Directed by Eddie Wrey Co-produced and translated by Max Wrey Co-edited by Rye...

 

Get our newsletter

 

* indicates required