November 2012
Poetry
Slipping Through The Noose
by Camonghne Felix
The body is blue jay
with Phoenix heart/
The body has lit into itself
with big, arching flame/
The body branches forward
to suspend itself/
The body is in constant/ conversation
with gravity/
If it were not an
instrument of/ shadow,
if it did not spell
under the/ bulb,
if it did not burn
so expertly/ who would
claim it?
What I have learned of survival:
You were spoken
here
by the divine gift giver,
in the back
of a chilled warehouse/ her
brow, a heavy silk spun by some/
foreign ocean/
You were her most/
meticulous creation, her/
bounty stowed in a/ carryon,
her mouth sewn shut/
A night traveler, with your/ blueprint
pressed to her stomach/
Every song is yours to sing.
About Camonghne Felix
Camonghne Felix was featured on HBO’s Brave New Voices as a member of the Urban Word 2010 team, who became the 2010 National Brave New Voices Champions. In 2011, she was the 17th slam ranked poet in the world. Camonghne has opened for esteemed writer Sapphire, author of the book PUSH and has been honored to share stages with Talib Kweli, Common, Rosario Dawson, Mahogany L Browne, and La Bruja. You can find her work in various publications, including Pank Magazine and Kill Author Magazine. She writes about the small things that happen when we’ve stopped looking.