Refugee//Lannie Stabile

Response to reading “Little Bee” by Chris Cleave

When “Little Bee” enters a room

She always forms a plan

The best way to kill herself

Should the men come suddenly

That’s how loving me is

That’s the only way I can describe it

The only comparison I can make

I craft escape plans

Just in case I’m a tad too stormy

Unaffected by his summers

Just in case my young organ

Doesn’t drum, rapid and uneven

To the rhythm he’s expecting

Just in case his caustic intensity

Burns shackles ‘round my wrists

Just in case he slices a machete

Through my ring finger

Or sexualizes my right hand

Just in case I’m the exact shade

Of hollow death he’s been seeking

I can run

I can fight

I can kill

Should the men come suddenly

Lannie Stabile, a Detroiter, likens the process of creative writing to spanking ketchup: grueling, but necessary. She has twice been invited to perform her poetry at Ann Arbor OUTFest, and in her leisure, can be seen at open mics in the area. More works can be found, or are forthcoming, in The Hellebore, Cauldron Anthology, Monstering, Kissing Dynamite, and more. She is penning a novel and chapbook, and recently became Project Manager of Barren Magazine.

Twitter handle: @LanniePenland