Safia Elhillo

in the kingdom of purity i obeyed my husband
i walked behind him my breasts covered

by a camera                 in his arms was a mirror held aloft
i faced myself & myself blurred in slightest motion

light fleeing the shutter                 & in the castle of purity
i closed the lights & faced my husband & my husband

called me by my glottal name                 my mouth
a depression in clay                 my mouth a mirror in the arms

of my husband                 my minaret a nipple in the direction
of my husband & five times a day i hesitate                 & five

times a day i chip a tooth & study sepia photographs
to learn names for my mothers                 to learn arrangements

for my photographed parts                 my captured parts
i tighten the frame                 i close my legs

when i say girlhood i say prison
i clean myself up & repent