THE HAUNTING

THE HAUNTING

By Farah Lawal Harris, 2024

That feeling of foreigners invading my temple

hunts me.

I am hunted by emptiness behind the detectives’ eyes.

I am hunted by the ugly yellow linoleum floors

of Howard University Hospital.

I am hunted by hairs being plucked,

by feeling like I lost myself in the muck

with stones and grit in my left eye.

I am hunted by body-shaking cries.

My trauma so deep it grew fibroids.

Hunted I was all the time.

The hunting now stops by each April.

I cry with the showers,

then emerge in May as a flower.

If not for the hunting,

I wouldn’t know bliss.

After the hunting,

I became a tulip.

Farah Lawal Harris

Farah Lawal Harris is an artist and breast cancer survivor who inspires people to overcome obstacles and be well. Through vulnerable storytelling, writing, and theatre, Farah makes people feel less alone and more able to tap into their personal power to be their best, creative selves.

https://www.farahlawalharris.com
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