Скачать или смотреть Art Gallery: Gender Through Cultural Story-Telling | Clara Ortiz

Artist: Clara Ortiz
Medium: Poetry

"An Ode To My Hair

Overflowing bundles of ribbon
suffocated my larynx,
with rage and shame
I shaved my head
and looked unrecognizable

I ached to be unknown
gliding past the chaotic scenery
of superficial silhouettes
I desired to be unseen,
craved to steer away their eyes from me
except myself
It was a constellation of grieving
a loss of words
and diving into a self-destructive isolation

Heavy eyelids
kept me unbalanced,
And then slowly, eyes drifted away from me
a warm sun radiated onto my skin
I was reborn
detached from the male gaze"


"I Am Enough

It makes me dizzy
to choose one or the other
What piece of my identity should I oppress to please them?
Who benefits from my submissiveness?
Intoxicated with their screams of fear,
I silence the noise with distorted rage

It's easy to conform,
assimilate into the idea of who they want me to be
their eyes clawing into my skin,
External echoes attempt to cut off my roots
and destroy the seed of my potential

I refuse to please them
and easily grant them access to exploit my humanity,
penetrating their language and societal norms into my subconscious
until I forget to exist on my own terms
Feeling a disconnect from my reflection in the mirror,
A faint scream of guilt
suffocates me back into reality,
staring back into my reflection I see who I am
I am enough"