Self Consumption

By Madilyn Lopez

I think I am a cannibal

My mother, horrified, saw me licking the blood and dirt

clean from the mirror in front of me

Hands and knees gripping the metal edges

like a starved animal

I try to love myself

I’m hungry

And if I met Aphrodite, I find it possible that I’d stab

her in the ribs and present it, like a cat with a bird in its

grasp, to Medusa

Madilyn Lopez is a young writer and playwright from Southern California. She is passionate about finding ways to innovate in the writing and performance field, but holds a special place for poetry as well.