I was grounded
by my father he
made me stand
on my one foot
like the shame pink
flamingo I saw
that night by the
salt lake glistening
like a paraph on a
paper of sprinkled
diamonds at the time
my mother died but
I was kissing you and
the flamingo was so pink
the lake bleached your
lips lust pink when
it was too late to call the
ambulance my mother’s
eyes poison pink lying
on the rust pink kitchen
linoleum I knelt down
whispering flamingo
flamingo flamingo
realizing if I repeat
a word more than ten
times it would sound like
coming from another time of
another planet of scar pink
like the word mother
like the word mother
About the Author
Özge Lena (she/her) is an Istanbul-based writer/poet and an English language teacher who has a published novella titled Otopsi (The Autopsy). Her poems appeared in Green Ink Poetry, Fahmidan Journal, One Art Poetry Journal, Seiren Quarterly, Off Menu Press, and elsewhere. Her poetry was shortlisted for the Ralph Angel Poetry Prize 2021, judged by Mary Ruefle.
