FRIDA KAHLO TO MARTY McCONNELL

It’s awesome that people, especially in the Tumblrverse, love this poem. But I’m posting it here publicly so that I can direct folks here to see that (a) it wasn’t actually written by Frida Kahlo (though um, how amazing would THAT be,) and (b) it is a poem which has linebreaks. Also to note that it was published in issue 23 of Salt Hill Journal, so anybody who wants a print copy can order the issue from them and support literary magazines in the process!

Click here to listen to an interview I did with the CBC about it.

CLICK HERE if you want to buy something that has a line or the full poem on it!

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Frida Kahlo to Marty McConnell
by Marty McConnell

leaving is not enough; you must
stay gone. train your heart
like a dog. change the locks
even on the house he’s never
visited. you lucky, lucky girl.
you have an apartment
just your size. a bathtub
full of tea. a heart the size
of Arizona, but not nearly
so arid. don’t wish away
your cracked past, your
crooked toes, your problems
are papier mache puppets
you made or bought because the vendor
at the market was so compelling you just
had to have them. you had to have him.
and you did. and now you pull down
the bridge between your houses.
you make him call before
he visits. you take a lover
for granted, you take
a lover who looks at you
like maybe you are magic. make
the first bottle you consume
in this place a relic. place it
on whatever altar you fashion
with a knife and five cranberries.
don’t lose too much weight.
stupid girls are always trying
to disappear as revenge. and you
are not stupid. you loved a man
with more hands than a parade
of beggars, and here you stand. heart
like a four-poster bed. heart like a canvas.
heart leaking something so strong
they can smell it in the street.