Natalie Gray—Women’s History Month

In honor of Women’s History Month, we are publishing artists and writers who identify as women. Introducing Natalie Gray, an artist and poet at UNC Wilmington.

Special meal
It sits at the head of your table now.
Grab your best glass. Smile. Offer it a coke.
You forgot the cutlery. It notices. It flashes
its eyes to the empty space beside the plate.
Lips pressed into
a smirk. It clears its throat.
Bake it some pie. Cherry. Golden crust.
Serve the pie. Sweat over the mediocrity
of the filing.
Swallow the lump in your throat. Try not to choke.
Hand it a knife.
Peel away your skin.
Let it carve out your entrails.
It's wearing your apron.
Slumping your liver into the blender
its slim finger over the pulverize button.
Marinating your heart on the top
shelf of the refrigerator. Still beating.
Garnishing your intestines. Candying your eyes.
It sets the table now. Cutlery last. Wagging a fork at you.
It serves your innards by candlelight.
Your suffering has defeated you.

Shedding
In the shower I peel away my skin
and my bones shake knocking
the worry from my head
the epidermis takes
roughly 27 days to regenerate
my skin has taken on a new
life 14 times now yet I still
yearn for the next
and so, I pull, scratch and pick
at my skin
while parts of me mix with suds
and slide down the drain
if the epidermis holds memory, then let me shed
the scabs tell me I'm further from you
and scars serve as a reminder that I've
left behind what you called yours
I rinse cold to sooth the
ache of my skin
I study my silhouette blurred
and red in a fogged mirror
if my body is a temple then let me rebuke you

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Wilmington-based artist, Natalie Gray enjoys creating work that makes room for bodies in their most natural and vulnerable states. Her creative journey started with a series of poorly painted landscapes sparked by “The Joy of Painting.” When she is not creating visual artwork, she enjoys writing poetry.