Response to Surface Abstracts (Belladonna* Chaplet #259)
Response to Surface Abstracts (Belladonna* Chaplet #259) by Kanika Agrawal
by Rosaline Nizam
[Best viewed on desktop to preserve formatting.]
It can be seen on the bed stuck face, a crease, an imprint, a surface changed. On a plane the
surface is flattened, a crease, a cut, a surface abstracted. A clumsy ugly piece of tape clinging
to thin paper skin. A band aid stuck for longer than a day. A thick open wound gaping fifty years
ago, going away. A cut from a plastic chair, slicing open a cheek. A discoloration from an
unknown source. An art piece given by a friend, it asks you to treat it with care. You imagine a
long piece of duct tape, you meant to use something else. The action of touching and
untouching. A thing that can't be untouched. A moment that keeps going and stays still. A
surface that rubbing won't grind down to a soft face. A love that fixes itself on to you. An
implication of rending. Material corrugated, that word that feels like dig, corruption, soft, thin,
buckling. A reused box, it's self conscious about who might see it.
Rosaline Nizam is a trans feminine poet, Queens College Alumni, and 2023-2024 Intern at Belladonna.
