i get 100% masochist on that internet BDSM test
Mya Matteo Alexice | Poetry
listen. bruising is god turning
the water in me into wine.
listen I don’t do things halfway.
listen the psychic damage
didn’t leave a mark. listen
when I do it to myself
it’s a “cause for alarm”.
listen no one listened.
listen if you hurt me at least
you want me. listen sometimes
we just like the sting of a slap.
listen maybe I do it for the
the end of it all. a kiss.
forgiveness. you’ve been hurt
enough. come here and rest.
Mya Matteo Alexice is a Black and white graduate of the Rutgers-Newark MFA. A Cave Canem fellow and pseudo-librarian, they are the author of A Shape We’ve Yet to Name. Matteo’s poems can be found in publications such as Pleiades, Black Warrior Review, Copper Nickel, diode, Hayden’s Ferry Review, The Bennington Review, Honey Literary, and elsewhere. They’ve received fellowships from the Mellon Foundation, Fine Arts Work Center, and more. They were the runner-up in the 2023 Black Warrior Review Poetry Contest judged by Gary Soto. He enjoys video games where you can make the characters kiss.