Third Place "Mimicking Amy" by Levie Marilao

In the next two days, I will be posting the second place and then the first place winner. I’d like to congratulate Levie Marialao for Mimicking Amy.

Though written in free verse this poem exhibits a rhythm of control. Each line is measured, not with a perfect beat but close.  

Also, the meaning of the poem is clearly communicated. The experiences portrayed build up to the point of the punchline of ‘begging’ her parents to go to rehab. We can see the agony and suffering in the poem. Like in all good art the message is clearly conveyed yet under scrutinization subtle nuances come out.

Mimicking Amy

by Levie Marilao

When I was out of blue gel
and canned sticky spray,
I began using paper glue
for an old bouffant style
looking like an untidy nest
emptied by birds long ago
when I still climbed trees.

The fair glow of my skin
turning dull, yellow-pale,
I smoked a pack each day
burning the itchy bruises
and the red bumpy boils
I wanted to scab then pick
while puffing on the patio.

I got tattoos not for the art
or the edgy-cool ink images
my friends would talk about
in between cold gulps of beer
or glass pipe hits or snorts
of knife-fined pure cocaine
at the house parties I hosted.

Once the pin-pulsated pain
no longer made me cringe,
I bought lancets and razors
and tried their sharp edges
on my consenting thighs
and arms that welcomed
the blades without tremor.

After pulling most of my hairs
on the head, skin, and groin
and my fingernails with pliers,
I stared at the broken mirror;
bald, gaunt, and all wounds,
I begged my mom and dad:
Please make me go to rehab.