Sarah Belli
Touch Tank Child
You led them in, single file to stare,
a roaring silence in her solemn;
my solemn, my soul overlooked
under the spell of some undertaker,
Two feet dangling, untouchable
above the tile floor in a doctor’s office
unavailing a girl’s deformed body;
soon-to-be violated, deformed body.
They pile in; the girl rumored born
an atrocity, born missing muscles
and ribs, with lungs unhinged
from her eight-year-old frame.
Constantly her knowing in her
eight-year-old brain.
She wasn’t normal.
These people, lab coat hems brushing
the floor, not marveling in awe,
but in horror; I was the horror,
I was forced to stand behind the
glass. Still behind the glass, all while
notes were taken and hands ungloved.
You let them touch until contentment,
no boundaries applicablet; a new generation
promising repairs, yet resenting me, never sick
of violating just a defective child meant to be
stared at by prying eyes that felt no pity
Being laid upon a girl’s naked body;
the one you told them to take turns touching.
And touching. And touching. And touching
where my head was held under water until
it gasped for air. And I will never understand how
You just sat there and made a touch tank out of me.
Sarah Belli is a poet and artist from Sarasota, FL. She is currently an undergraduate student at the University of South Florida double-majoring in English, with a concentration in Creative Writing, and Economics. Her art has been published in 805 Lit + Art. Her poetry is influenced by anything from her upbringing and personal experiences to theoretical economic concepts. Sarah is currently working on a poetry collection called Experiences I Don’t Think are Mine and hopes to pursue an MFA in Creative Writing postgraduate.