Miriam Wei Wei Lo (b. 1973)
SELECTED POEMS
No Epidural
after Sharon Olds, “The Language of the Brag”
arena
First the fear
then the surge—
exhilaration
pulsing through the body
with each contraction.I toss my head and walk into the cage.
I take the stance of a fighter.ocean
Like surfing a sixteen-metre wave—
the wall of pain rises to its roaring crest and I catch it,
keeping my feet, sliding down its face, all the way
to the shallows.I ride all night.
ballroom
Dancing with pain—
it turns and I turn with it,
feet moving faster, and faster,
until we are blurry with motionuntil I break free, laughing,
playing tricks with my mind—
I am a fish that lives in the air
and a bird that breathes in the sea.No one can catch me.
inside
You, little one, are the bird that breathes in the sea,
surfacing, ready to roll through transition; you are the chick
rocking the egg, in unsteady motion; pressing
to break the shell from the inside.grandstand
What is arrival but one fluid motion,
the flourish of delivery?I swim back to shore, body spent.
I reach for something laconic:
Try that, boys.I cradle my glistening prize.
by Miriam Wei Wei Lo
from Who Comes Calling? (2023)
