Two Poems, by Teo Mungaray

The following poems contain details involving childhood sexual assault/rape and domestic violence.

Knife Spell

in Sarah’s voice

I’ll tell you what happened backwards

to erase the memory: Boy,

You’ve got the knife. Daddy comes in.

I practice tears. You are shaking.

You are screaming, your blind-white eyes.

You pull the knife out of the block.

Chili dogs boiling. I chase you to the kitchen.

Daddy’s in the garage. I’ve got you in the living room.

Mother won’t be back for dinner. You’re alone.

I come out of my room. I’m hungry.

Things I Can Say ‘Yes’ To

I can say yes to liking cats and dogs, yes

to sugar in my tea, yes

to olives, yes to pickles, yes

to putting off my work, yes

to falling in love, yes

to being sick, yes

to men I should say no to, yes

to was it long ago, yes

to was it recent, yes

to did she touch you, yes

to did he touch you, yes

to did it hurt, yes

to did they forget a condom, yes

to are you insured, yes

to can we take some blood, yes

to can we call about the results, yes

to are you ok, yes

to does it hurt here, yes

here and here

and here and

here, here, yes.

Teo Mungaray is a queer, chronically ill, latinx poet. He holds an MFA from Pacific University of Oregon and is pursuing his doctorate at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is a co-founder and co-EIC of Cotton Xenomorph. His poems have recently appeared in or are forthcoming from The Acentos Review, ANMLY, Gulf Coast, The Shade Journal, and Waxwing. He has a cat named Lysistrata. You can find him on twitter @teomungaray.