Kyle Oh
They Say It Takes a Village to Raise a Child
I like to imagine that in the hospital room my mother gave birth to a murder
of crows as swift
as Itachi Uchiha—I like to wonder
that if I were to kill all the clan but one,
who would I save?
And I like to think I am beautiful sometimes--
that sometimes I can catch the crows in the parking lot
like chasing friends in a game of tag and
Yes, I did Naruto run with my arms stretched behind me, swift
as I’ve been called gorilla lips and friendless
And sometimes I like to remember every time my brother said faggot
and wonder that if I gave him my eyes,
Would he see why I abandoned the village, why
when he had opened the closet door what flew out
was a murder
of crows
as swift
As I like to think I am beautiful sometimes, and sometimes
I am—as beautiful and black-
winged and gone
as the rogue ninja.
Kyle Oh is an economics major and creative writing minor at the University of Houston. He primarily writes poetry about gayness and sometimes its conflicts with his Nigerian culture at the moment, and has appeared in the literary journals "Sink Hollow" and "Screen Door Review". You can find him on twitter @KyleOhPoetry