Bio

 
Photo of

Preeti Shah works in the healthcare field and volunteers to assist the underserved. Her work has appeared in Dash Literary Journal, The Fictional Café, The American Aesthetic, YJPerspectives and elsewhere. She received her B.A. in Fine Arts specializing in Music from Rider University and enjoys songwriting. She resides in Queens, NY.

 

Trigger Warning

grief        finds
its mouth
in dark walls

it chokes
on nails       and chalk
a palette of peel i n g    paint
dried     wet wooden breath
that only I can hear
wailing
I bang       my cheekbones
to bruise a room blue
to see
another color
white
pearls
shower
from
gums
while lips tighten like oysters
from being pried                  open
by night

a room is now repurposed
a chessboard
checkered
of teeth
and past memories

my dead Father is the
b
r   o
k   e
n
pieces in a losing game
death’s hand wins again

kings versus pawns

Leave a Reply