Frog Body

[Writing Center tutor] suggested I use a repeating “the” at the beginning of a few lines, which I loved, and asked for clarification about the entrails line, which I now feel is more specific to what I am trying to convey. My word choice was the main thing I looked at for this piece. Honestly, I think it helped me get over my fear of showing others my writing. I rarely share things like this, so it feels vulnerable and real to put these works into publication; to have poetry that details such intimate feelings in a magazine is scary! I am glad I submitted it, this has helped me grow as a writer and reflect on why I write.

I am a frog
Belly up arms stretched wide
Each finger pinned down by your piercing stare.
Exposed in a millisecond,
I am naked and embarrassed
Of the only body I’ve ever known.
The scalpel does not matter,
The pins do not hold weight,
The scientist can’t give opinion
To my squishy frog soul.
Yet my intestines feel burdensome
And my whole day is ruined
By sharp eyes that meet a failed “hello.”
A crowd of harsh overhead lights
Tell me I am both invisible
And picked apart.
I am watched for wrong moves,
And I am a frog ghost, smiling with teeth
From my slimy, squishy, pathetic frog body.

Izzy King is finishing their Junior year at DePaul this spring, majoring as a BFA Actor at The Theatre School and minoring in Applied Psychology. She is new to writing poetry; this is her first time submitting work to a literary magazine! They love Shakespeare, coffee, and new plays.