bruised
Nighttime mirror. Elbows raised to tie
my hair, and there, size of a pumpkin
seed:
a bruise, perfectly pressed. Blue-black,
the color, plummy and rare. Amidst
thread-thin veins and deepening lines, it
looks like childhood.
Each morning, I settle my weight on my
spine; tiptoe the mat behind my head.
Soothed, fear snuffed. Trusting this bind
I’ve put myself in.
LAKSHMI MUIRHEAD (b. 1974, Bloomington, Illinois) is a black American visual artist. She mainly makes abstract paintings, currently focusing on surface texture and linear marks. Muirhead earned her BA in English from Macalester College, St. Paul, Minnesota. She received the 2018 Neddy Artist Award in Painting, Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle. She is represented by J. Rinehart Gallery, Seattle. Muirhead lives and works in Seattle.
