my_stomach_said_my_name raze not the name i was born with. the one i gave myself when i was old enough to think i knew what i was going to be when i grew up. i stood at the bathroom sink. face damp and drawn. i was sure i heard my father calling me from one floor down. he sounded terrified. it wasn't him. it was me. my stomach says a lot of things. never in any language i can understand. this time was different. a terminal hair fell from the bow above one eye and made a mouth against the metal plate at the base of the faucet. "curl up if you're happy and down if you're sad," i said. it chose to form a frown. my lips tried to do the same, governed by the gravity of living. i bit them until they bled and forced a smile. chapped and cherry red. 260813 what's it to you? who go blather from