After Toni Morrison’s “It Comes Unadorned”
It comes Unexplained,
unspooled red thread
tied around your head;
a broken promise.
It comes Unrestrained,
bury your head
in your mother’s breast.
A thousand prayers to the Gods;
the whisper of the trigger
rings in your mind
stares in a shattered mirror
cuts you deep, turns you blind;
trace the bloodied pathways
shaped by rules predefined.
Mine.
She comes beautifully into the world like a wish unfulfilled.
Julia Ongking is currently a sophomore in high school. Born and raised as a Chinese-Filipino, she enjoys developing her perspectives through reading, writing, and having meaningful conversations with people from all walks of life. Her work has been published in Rapper Magazine and Cathartic Lit Magazine, among others.