They measured her body
with iron chains,
and gave her a new name—

as if planting a eucalyptus
into a church vase,
uprooting the old one completely.

She learned to use ink
to slowly cover
her reflection in the water,

hiding it from every eye,
until her skin
grew a waterproof shell.

Years later,
on a night made bright by alcohol,
she suddenly heard

the sound of water
rising from her spine—
an unnamed stream

speaking in a grammar
long forgotten,
washing away

every dam
that had ever
been built inside her.

Image: Jonathan Pie