inheritance (I)
is there a history
of mental illness
in your family?
yeah doc
for centuries
but only I
have had
the luxury
of naming them
inheritance (II)
depression,
severe
rapid cycling bipolar
type II
borderline personality
disorder
attention deficit
disorder
post-traumatic stress
disorder
history of eating
disorder
panic!
disorder
obsessive compulsive
disorder
disorder
disorder
disorder
dis
order
inheritance (III)
when my father died
I got
photographs of him
in his coffin
I got
four thousand reais and
rapidcyclingbipolartypetwo
I got
a bouquet of brand new pills and
advice from the psychiatrist
to mourn
not understanding that I already had
years ago
when
I killed him
the moment I found out
what he did
to my sister
before I even remembered
what he did
to me
when my father died
I got
photographs of him
in his coffin
they were so morbid
my sister and I
had
to laugh
inheritance (IV)
my mother’s nose
and my father’s eyes
her mouth
his brow
her cheekbones
his height
her breasts
and his mother’s
thighs
my mother’s
and her mother’s
and her mother’s
and her mother’s
and her mother’s
and her mother’s
trauma
and my father’s
light skin
inheritance (V)
once I began asking
they have spilled
from every orifice
saliva
piss
shit
blood
tears
stories
trickling
to me
About the author
Ana Maria Gomides is an Afro-Latina writer of fiction, non-fiction and poetry working out of Birraranga, also known as Melbourne. She is a snoozy, hungry creature, currently hibernating her way into immortality. In sleep, she conducts intricate ritual sacrifices of white cis het men, avenging the past and bringing blessings into the future. You can find her on Twitter @anamariagomides.