thunder flourish
blossom white      

descend through fog         
dream glitter         static shimmer

now dance into light flare
curtain drop         then clap    

a clay shell swelling
between bone & matter

spilling over in waves
like the spinning won’t 

stop         now feel it hollow
& harden         then stop

now needle the markings
with a hammer as proof 

let it echo against tender flesh
let the ink sink into tissue         see: 

my brain tattoos
itself on itself      

then waits         the suspense
of applause         a hiccup 

thunder         then flourish
now blossom         & white 

call it chronic         a body accustomed
to creating pain or         call it art 

a body accustomed
to creating storm

Suchita Chadha is an Indian poet and prose writer from Canada, currently pursuing an MFA at NYU. Her work has appeared in Hippocampus Magazine, Verge Magazine, and elsewhere.