All the Ones I Do Not See

It's #tbt! Enjoy this great one from SWWIM Every Day's archives!

---

I saw a mother open her mouth and eat
The doll whole
That woman was not (me)
And I saw the man who was her father
He put the baby in her but he was not (me)

All the ones I do not see

I saw someone’s daughter claw the leeches from her vagina
That girl was not (me)
And I was not the doctor who opened her
Swam those fuckers in and then went To supper

All the ones I do not see

I saw the widow who sat before the mirror
But that woman was not (me)
I saw the son who admitted her and heard him plea
She does nothing but primp and deplore her condition
But he was not me



All the ones I do not see
In asylum
They call to me

---

Tina Parker is the author of three books of poetry, most recently Lock Her Up published by Accents Publishing in 2021. She is grateful to the editors of SWWIM for publishing "All the Ones I Do Not See" when Lock Her Up, which conveys the untold stories of women committed to mental asylums, was just a twinkle in her eye. Tina grew up in Bristol, Virginia, and she is a long-time Kentucky resident. To learn more about her work, follow her on Instagram @tetched_poet.