The Bough
Christie A. Cruise
(originally featured
in issue xxi.i- Autumn)
I break open.
Each time I remember
to whom I am born,
I break open
Like a pumpkin cradled in the arms
of a clumsy child careening to the ground
I break open.
Like fresh brown ones and white ones
clacked on the rim of a cold ceramic bowl,
I break open.
When lips part to share the
secret
that no other soul can know,
I break
open.
Christie A. Cruise, Ph.D., is an author, educator, and social justice advocate. In 2019 she released her first book, It Don’t Hurt Now: My Journey of Self-Love & Self-Acceptance. Her poetry, reflections, and self-portrait photography has been published in Gumbo Magazine, Remington Review, Gallery & Studio Arts Journal, Sunspot Literary Journal, the International Women’s Writing Guild (IWWG) anthology Heels Into the Soil, and the IWWG Network edition Our Stories, Ourselves: Narratives from Black Women in Africa and America. In addition, Dr. Cruise has contributed to blogs for the Black Mental Wellness Corporation and The Healing Collective Global. She is currently a board member for the International Women’s Writing Guild. Visit her website (www.christieanncruise.com) or find her on facebook and instagram @christieanncruise.