Talicha J. is a Black queer poet and teaching artist. A Pushcart Prize nominee and Collaborating Fellow at The Poetry Lab, she’s performed across the U.S. with the Respect Da Mic and Art Amok slam teams. Her debut collection, Falling in Love with Picking Myself Up (2015), led to a national tour and helped grow her presence as a poet. In June 2024, Talicha released her chapbook, Taking Back the Body, which won the Beyond the Veil Press chapbook contest. Alongside her work, she curates writing and editing sprints, leads online generative workshops, and hosts a monthly publication submission space. Her work has appeared in or is forthcoming with Plenitude, Fahmidan, Peach Fuzz, Lucky Jefferson, Just Femme and Dandy, Button Poetry, and more.
Cataracts
A Ribcage after Athena Liu
i wonder if my grandmother would say she lost
[her]
self, or at least a part that she wished back, like her
[eyes]
which were blinded by something in her body that
[turned]
against her. if she could forgive the cataracts
[dark]
veil wrapping itself around her vision, bringing
[storm]
causing systems to shut down without her say. a
[cloud]
hovering over her peripheral, making
[gray–]
scale the only palette she could access. i want
[her]
to have experienced color again–selfish
[sight]
to find its way into her direct line, be un–
[blocked]
or blurred or dimmed or stolen by age blinking and
[light]
running out of ways to dull itself, to be un–
[blind]
her eyes turned dark, storm cloud gray, her sight blocked, lightblind
Note: A ribcage is a poetic form invented by poet, Athena Liu, consisting of 24 lines alternating between 12-syllable lines and a monosyllabic word in brackets. At the end of the text, the bracketed words — or spine — are read from top to bottom.
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Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit established to publish and promote creative writing by Black women. We publish contemporary writing by experienced and emerging writers alike. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats.
Right before I read "Cataracts," I read Gwendolyn Brooks's "We Real Cool..." So my mind's ear was already prepared for the space and breath--the space in the breath--that mark these clean lines as they travel down the page. I had never heard of the ribcage form. I'm glad you brought it to my attention.