& say i was touchedāāsay everywhere the world enters me leaves behind a woundā say because i love shame
i am ashamed to have been hurtāā say the aching makes a low hum at the base of my remaining life
say my disgrace becomes my obsessionāāsay i roam for days at its bordersātouch it to my tongue
ā Safia Elhillo, from "A Rumor," Girls That Never Die










