I WANT YOU TO [      ] THE LIVING [      ] OUT OF ME.

I WANT TO FORGET THE FEELING OF HISTORY’S HOT BREATH

ON MY SKIN, ITS RANK STENCH THAT CLINGS TO EVERY JOY

LIKE AN OIL SLICK. I WANT TO BE MADE IRIDESCENT

LIKE HISTORY. TO BURN BRIEFLY IN YOUR ARMS

LIKE HISTORY. I WANT TO BE FLAYED ALIVE

UNTIL I FORGET MY OWN FACE, LIKE HISTORY.

I WANT TO BE THE INVOCATION

THE FORGED & FORAGED DOCUMENT

I WANT TO BURN THE GOOGLE SERVERS DOWN

IF THEY DON’T FIX AUTOCAPITALIZATION.

I WRITE MY BODY, HONE MY METHOD.

I SHEATH THE KNIFE OF YOUR EYES FOR SAFEKEEPING.

I WEAR YOUR TEETH FOR GOOD LUCK ON BAD DAYS.

WHEN HISTORY FINDS ME BACKED INTO A CORNER

ITS RED EYES TRAIL DOWN MY THROAT

& SQUASHES ME LIKE A BUG

PEST THAT I AM

ARCHIVAL MITE THAT DREAMS

OF GNAWING AT THE METAL OF YOUR BONES

TO FREE THE BIRD INSIDE.

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Trinh Lê is a Pushcart-nominated poet and book artist of Vietnamese origin. Their writing appears in Broken Promises: Artists in Solidarity Through the Lens of James Baldwin, MORIA, and The Ana. Trinh self-publishes under the name B!NGO Press. You can find them at @emojipoetics on Instagram.