Two times a day, I measure chia seeds / To straighten my clavicle. / Nothing helps / With good posture like even shoulders.

Poetry by Nanya Jhingran

Two times a day, I measure chia seeds
To straighten my clavicle.              

                     Nothing helps
                     With good posture like even shoulders.
 
Then hoist my aggravated belly,
Half stolen abundance half
misdiagnosis, upon this dismal scaffold.

                     To perk things up, sieve dried lavender
                     Into baking powder; place pouch in abdominal cavity.
 
To make the body altar, offer
three servings of Two Buck Chuck
And one loaf of Grand Central bread;
receive the eucharist in rewards balance.
 
                     We muster our love into resplendent dinners,
                     Turn it to flesh you take where you go.
 
To ensure symmetry, measure your organs
Before and after you leave the house. If
Your cheeks have cherried, hue a patina
Of olive oil and flour dust. Remember,
We are well-fed but humble people.

Nanya Jhingran (she/her) grew up in Lucknow, India and now lives and writes (as an uninvited guest) on the unceded lands of the Coast Salish peoples in Seattle, WA. She is a PhD Candidate in Literature and Culture and an MFA Candidate in Poetry at the UW. When she is not writing, reading, cooking for her friends, or walking around the city, she can be found playing with her cat Masala. Her poetry and other writing has been published at The Boiler and Kajal Magazine,  and are forthcoming with New Limestone Review, Poetry Northwest, Snail Trail Press, and Honey Literary Mag, among others.