Photography © Jennifer Matthews

 

Annunciation

The girl drops
a cricket into the jar

pushes eye
hard against the echoes
of its jumping

palm tight atop
the mouth
cutting off the air

shaking

until the bug
punch drunk enough
to be tipped between
her teeth is

swallowed

jar capped
light left burning
garage door angled
open

 

jms xuange is a poet exploring the raw edges of identity and transformation. Their work distills the strange, the painful, and the surreal into moments of sharp clarity, pushing the boundaries of what language can express.

Poet/Photographer Jennifer Matthews’ poetry has been published in Nepal by Pen Himalaya and locally by the Wilderness Retreat Writers Organization, Midway Journal, The Somerville Times, Ibbetson Street Press and Boston Girl Guide. Jennifer was nominated for a poetry award by the Cambridge Arts Council for her book of poetry Fairy Tales and Misdemeanors. Her songs have been released nationally and internationally and her photography has been used as covers for a number of Ibbetson Street Press poetry books and has been exhibited at The Middle East Restaurant, 1369 Coffeehouses, Sound Bites Restaurant in Somerville and McLean Hospital.