Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine, Fall 2021

a parade of
containers
By Jessica Dixon
a parade of containers
my mother’s body – out two months early
an incubator – void of human touch
cardboard boxes – filled with objects of importance and need
a lower body cast – itchy, restricting, and hollow
a check box on a form – I AM DISABLED
my body a vessel – cannot contain all of the pain – it has to go
somewhere
Now
COVID – has shrunk the space in which my body can move and
where it is safe to breathe
I can’t climb out of this container –
this body
much like a Tupperware container
rounded corners
and
on display for everyone to see
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