Sometimes the cunt is tucked into itself,
sewn up
like the lips of a prisoner.
After the procedure, the girl learns
how to walk again, mermaid with new legs,
soft knees buckling under new sinless body.
Daughter is synonymous with traitor, the father says.
If your mother survived it, you can.
Cut, cut, cut.
But Mother, did you truly survive it?
The carving, the warm blade against
your inner thigh. Silencing
the devil’s tongue between your legs.
On an episode of America’s Next Top Model
the contestants huddle around Amina after her
confession, touching her arm
with concern
for her pleasure.
Asking questions: Can you even feel
anything down there? The camera zooms in
on a Georgia O’Keefe painting.
Mother says
the clitoris is not a heart, you won’t die
if they cut it out, just thank god
you have your arms and your legs,
some people do not even have that.
Two girls lie in bed beside each other holding mirrors
under the mouths of their skirts,
comparing wounds.