“Where the artist’s anatomy begins” by Bianca Spriggs

253 Replies

for Nikky 

The artist has to be something like a whale swimming with his mouth wide open
—Romare Bearden

Make me a mouth
so great I cannot clench it,
nor close it even a little.
Give me no papillae,
for I would feed not
to taste but to live.
Yoke my throat
to my spout so what floods
in may make room for more
by rushing back out.
Grow me skin so dense,
cold words cannot abrade it,
lungs to keep me breathless
the deeper I dive,
a heart so heavy
it will not capsize in a storm,
and a gut so vast,
it will never know
what it means to feel full.

-Bianca Spriggs

253 thoughts on ““Where the artist’s anatomy begins” by Bianca Spriggs”

  1. Allie Marini Batts

    Wow, the imagery in this piece is, to quote you, “lungs to keep me breathless”–this piece is gorgeous!

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