2nd Place
‘Nature vs. Nurture’ by Suzi Ataei
You are
a conglomeration –
words given breath,
thoughts lurking behind teeth,
shadow
split
into ancestral circulating rivers
gushing
wisdom:
a jagged island shaped by the ocean.
Waves
mold everything touched with their essence –
grooves pressed into your life’s texture,
colored with everlasting impressions,
permanent
and
defining.
I am me
and
you are you:
this body,
its vibrations
fluctuations
and allegations –
they are mine.
Yet –
can you hear father in the amused curl of my lips?
Does mother greet you from the depths of my indignant gaze?
Grandmother’s wisdom rises and falls with the cadence of my song,
grandfather lives in the humility of my bones,
Iran shrouds the proud line of my spine,
Texas chisels the stubborn line of my jaw,
North Carolina curves the provocative tilt of my hips,
and
my sister’s vicious vivacity burns my blood.
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.