Jeevika Verma
DARK, DARKER

dark, darker

when I frown
into this mirror
a depth takes
my forehead

inside there is a little white man

sitting straight
working hard
flipping through
pages used unused

these are records
of me fighting gravity
like that one time
I did not kneel before
him

should I find a floor that will not reflect
how my teeth have shattered against it for centuries
like that one time

should I lay a drape over my upright head
the white in my eye has grown very yellow anyway

but the shadow of the obelisk is bent this way

I could grab that neck
twist it so
all the white drips
out
folds
into my lap
and collects
like the sweat
on my bare brown back

away from the mirror

there is no white here
I know

Jeevika Verma has always fought the odds to unapologetically tell the truth and ask a lot of questions. Her work aims to create conversations surrounding power, art, culture and identity. Originally from India, she recently graduated from the University of Washington and is currently a poet and writer based in Seattle, WA.

Read more from Cleaver Magazine’s Issue #17.