Back in August 2023, I read half of my poem - Moth-eaten at the MoMA Members Open Poetry Mic.
I think this may have been their first open mic in a long time. I hope they do another one this year. We need art more than ever.
Video below. This was the first time I’ve read in public in a long time.
I am honored that my poem Rape Kits was published in the 3rd edition of Pandora’s Box in Timeless Tales Magazine.
This poem was inspired by the HBO documentary - I am evidence and the appalling reality of the rape kit backlog remaining untested in the hundreds of thousands. I was horrified by the idea of these boxes in a warehouse where birds were actually making nests of the evidence, of these women’s bodies and pain, evidence that could put the rapists behind bars. And who better to open the boxes than Pandora?
Pandora opening the box is frequently seen as cataclysmic but in this case, she’s a warrior, doing what is necessary for justice. All the emotions from the collective violations released giving the victims hope.
A word about the moths – in some versions of the myth, the “bad” things released are described as moths and I thought what if these moths were avenging goddesses and in my internet sleuthing came across Theodore D. Sargent’s invaluable Working Paper of Attributes - Goddesses – Moths. I have always thought that moths were underrated.
About Timeless Tales Magazine
Timeless Tales is a digital magazine exclusively publishing retellings of fairy tales and classic myths since 2013. Please be sure follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.
My other stories published by Timeless Tales - Home is Where the Bone is and The World is Inside.
Goofing around in Queens Botanical Gardens
