postpartum unveiled a secret vault
hidden behind vines and tangles of uncertainty
and when it opened
a poet emerged.
she was uncertain at first
blinking blindly in the sunlight
but she was filled to the brim
and ready to pour out her soul
so that other mothers
feeling grief
feeling alone
feeling too much
but never enough
could trace their fingers
over the familiar words
and feel at home.
-kass mangione
Happy National Poetry Month!
what makes a poet, really?
i pondered this the other day.
do we have to be broken?
a little
disjointed?
unseen?
unheard?
are we all just chipped,
fragmented?
using art to hold ourselves together?
and if it weren’t for that
song
painting
photograph
short story
sculpture
book
poem
would we just crack?
written by kass mangione
2023
my great grandmother
was a dancer
and a musician
and a poet.
i only know this through stories
and on the pages of yellowing paper
that my mom possessed for safekeeping.
when i was little,
i found a box in her room,
and every so often
i would sneak in
and softly sift through the pages.
i’d read my great grandmother’s poems
all about her home,
and her garden
and her family.
never published
or to be seen
other than by a tiny girl
who would also someday become
a dancer
and a musician
and a poet.
written by kass mangione
2023
it’s another girl, they said,
so i immediately thought of fire.
i thought of clenched fists and a lifetime of what-ifs
i thought of nervous glances and not taking chances.
i thought of a house filled with frilly dresses
and tights and messes
i thought of emotions
overflowing …
of dollhouses and tea parties
of clothing and fashion trends
of teasing and bullying
precious friendships lost and then true sisterhoods made.
i thought of growing up before you should.
i thought of a lot of things.
like how maybe boys would have been easier …
and how hard it is to be a woman.
i thought about body autonomy
about birth control
about marriage equality
about silencing and pay gaps
about the male gaze
but then i thought about me
about raising strong women
and how i will teach them that
“no” is a complete sentence.
i will teach them how to speak their mind
i will teach them to be fearless
to be an ally.
and i will teach them to read
to think
to dream
to achieve
to explore
to climb rocks and jump and play
to inspire
i will teach them
how to be an ember
that sets the world on fire.
written by kass mangione
03.11.24
keepitkassual.com 