Pariah

Seas of her marooned
organs, litter
archipelagos. A mistress
of lapis, of celeste–
ever foreign. Banished
siren, abandoned
orphan. She is cloistered
behind vows of mourning,
tandem ties broken
to land. Unmoored
in Aycayia’s bosom.
She subsists amongst coral,
with a surname
more concept than proof.
Stripped of identity
by her kin, she belongs
nowhere. Fauvists
understand her blues–
blurry brushstrokes
of a being, vivid inclinations
of someone whole.

Shon Mapp is a Bajan writer whose pieces explore lesbian intimacy, kinship, and immigrant identities. She has work published in Stanchion, HAD, Neologism, Fourteen Poems, and other indie literary magazines. You can find her on Twitter & Bluesky:@ShonMapp.