
Kavya Makam
Blancophobia
a.) i watched a murder
fibers snapping, audible collapsing, silent gagging
i looked quick—
a decapitated fish
you said
“c’mon we’re going to be late”
​
b.) I tried to speak but—
oxygen is taken
into the lungs through the
a. nose
b. mouth
c. the eyes
​
c.) the fish market is a yard in Atascadero
fibers snapping, audible collapsing, silent gagging
i looked quick—
a wooden cross on a front yard
you said
“we’re going to be late for lunch”
​
d.) you said—
muscle memory induces diaphragm contractions;
a hollow hand
never forgets
​
e.) my body is at lunch but my mind is at the fish market
gutted and gasping
that stupid gaping fish
glazed and vapid eyes while
he keeps//
you keep//
everyone is//
clamoring, cackling, choking—
​
[i am// //
carp cataracts
in a summer dress]
About the Author
Kavya Makam is a Southwest Asian writer living in Southern California. She is currently immersing herself in BIPOC media, writing, and art, in an attempt to decenter her Eurocentric perspective on learning. This is her third publication with The Ear; she has been featured in Byzantium and The WIB Wire.