Foreign Bodies

by Madison McClintock

I was born an alien,

Image credit: Nantu DAS on Unsplash

dropped down

into my mother’s arms

by way of plastic sheet.

Silent amongst the fluids,

warm and familiar.

I was granted a new body

for this earth.

Hands so foreign,

I nearly let the knife slip

just to see

if pain is something transferable.

I stare in the mirror

and repeat–

that’s me, that’s what I look like–

again and again,

until I can pass my reflection in a window

and not back away from what I see.

***

Madison McClintock

Madison McClintock is a writer, aphantasic, and super-recognizer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, her work blends personal narrative with cultural critique, often exploring the shifting terrain of memory and the interplay of intimacy and performance. Her poems have appeared in Harrow House Journal and are forthcoming in Sky Island Journal. You can find more of her work at observationdissociation.substack.com.