Anne Carson
Before you judge success, look to how
much has been overcome … Dalai lama
Lucky you got out of that house alive.
Years before you could look the hurt
which happened there in the eye
and know it wasn’t the badness they
said was in you, which drove them to
it. Perhaps it would have been better
if it had been physical, if actual scars
you could touch had raised skin-ropes
reminding you the power they wielded
over you was of knives/clubs/knuckle-
dusters. Had they rained actual blows
down on your body, torn your flesh
caused blood to flow, perhaps it would
be easier then to know where blame
lies.
Lucky you got out of that family
with any single thing intact. Against
all odds you poulticed yourself back
to health. The darker the rose, the
sweeter the perfume.
Anne M Carson is a poet, essayist and visual artist. Her latest publications are Massaging Himmler: A Poetic Biography of Dr Felix Kersten (2019) and Two Green Parrots (2019). She has initiated poetry-led social justice projects, and is a RMIT PhD candidate in Creative Writing. www.annemcarson.com
Old Water Rat Publishing 