Ex machina

I have been trying to figure out the logistics of owning a body like one

owns a family heirloom or an old sweater / I don’t know how to talk to

people who’ve never imagined taking off their body with all its aches

and soft imperfections / stepping out of the house of flesh and feeling

finally free of its ugly weight / hanging it in the closet or leaving it behind

in a second-hand store amidst dusty sofas and chipped tea cups / equally

used up and unwanted / I have been trying to avoid turning my body into

a tragedy / the ancient kind all masks and voices and finally a catharsis /

a release of all that dreadful feeling

Ash Davida Jane

A. Davida Jane is a poet and bookseller from Wellington. She has a degree in English from Victoria University. Her first poetry collection was published with Platypus Press in the UK in 2016. She can also be found on social media @adavidajane.