this male, this female, which is worse.
the higher, the lesser now drawn: red
is made of meat cuts: sirloin, brisket
should not be boiled in the milk of its
including how to consume each other.
wine and sunglasses. this mouth, we will
nothing will be left to itself. instead,
reclaimed. my body, properties of
barbed wires on my crotch. a name,
Listen: Lorelei Bacht performs “a guide to all the cuts of beef”
Author’s Note: This poem is a percolation of various experiences and concerns: a background in political science, a family history of displacement, the vicissitudes of gender and embodiment. Written while daydreaming in front of a map of 19th century Europe, it is a reflection on the many layers of oppression, and the intersection between land, language and bodies.
Lorelei Bacht is a multicultural poet living in Asia. A former political analyst and lobbyist, she has been using poetry to explore the universal, psychological, embodied nature of political violence through history. Her work has appeared / is forthcoming in Rise Up Review, The Wondrous Real, The Antonym, Abridged, Odd Magazine, Liminal Transit, Strukturriss and Slouching Beast Journal. She is also on Instagram: @lorelei.bacht.writer and on Twitter @bachtlorelei