First Look: A Poem From My Debut Book

We're celebrating #NaPoWrMo with a rough draft poem from my upcoming book The Hero and the Whore

Hello all! I am sharing the first draft poem for my upcoming book The Hero and the Whore. This version of the poem is a very rough draft. It has been revised, edited, hacked at, and mulled over. The title changed as well as many of the lines (other lines were added!) but the direction of the poem remains the same. I think that is what makes writing so lovely — we can change a written work I’m proud of what the poem has become and am happy to share this first look with you.

This poem accompanies a chapter I wrote about healing from religious abuse through opening ourselves to the erotic. As Audre Lorde explains:

“The erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos of our strongest feelings. It is an internal sense of satisfaction to which, once we have experienced it, we know we can aspire. For having experienced the fullness of this depth of feeling and recognizing its power, in honour and self-respect we can require no less of ourselves.”

I wanted to create a poem about erotic pleasure that felt like it had the importance of a confession but broke free from the secrecy of it. Oftentimes (at least in my experiences) the places shrouded in secrecy use shame to uphold its confidentiality. This poem is a form of unshackling.

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