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Bright hazel eye looking directly into the camera, with sparkles on the eyelashes and streaks of pink, blue, and orange paint, with the title of the piece at the top of the picture

Maya Owen
CARTE BLANCHE

……………..Whilst I was human
…………………………………………………I walked around with glitter in my eye
…………………….I wrote it down
…………………………………………………I believed in magic
…..bartered with the elemental
…………………………………………………fixity of stone, facility of water
I believed in our animal origin
…………………………………………………how it lived on
………………in our animal heart
…………………………………………………throwing shadows
………………….against the moon
…………………………………………………Something about the moon
…………….and its shifting effigy
……………………………………………….. Something about my hands’
………………….failed synecdoche
…………………………………………………This burnt offering
………….my life turned out to be
…………………………………………………accomplished little but to warp
……………..a modest patch of air
…………………………………………………into a bright derangement
…………………..If I could go back
…………………………………………………If I could pick my life back up
wear again my spent humanness
…………………………………………………like a dress crumpling over a chair
……………..I would devour openly
…………………………………………………I would permit everything

Headshot of Maya OwenMaya Owen lives, writes, and sings in London, England. Her work has been featured in publications including The Adroit Journal, Alexandria Quarterly, DIALOGIST, and DRUNK IN A MIDNIGHT CHOIR, and been nominated for a Best of the Net award.

Image credit: Cédric Klei on Unsplash

Read more from Cleaver Magazine’s Issue #23.

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