Poetry

Published on December 11th, 2018 | by Noriko Nakada

2

Not Your Job

 

after Caitlyn Siehl

 

When the doctor went to pierce

the flap of skin under your nose

with his sterile silver hook

I told you to squeeze my hand

and said, “You are so brave”

sending all of the questions

creeping into the corners

about a scar

on your little nose

or alterations

to the shape

of your heart-shaped nostrils

back to your birth

and people saying how pretty

how beautiful

how lovely

while I insist you are smart, and kind, and sassy

so even if the stitches heal perfectly

it doesn’t matter.

You don’t have to be pretty.

It’s not your job.

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About the Author

Noriko Nakada writes, blogs, tweets, parents, and teaches middle school in Los Angeles. She is committed to writing thought-provoking creative non-fiction, fiction, and poetry. Publications include two book-length memoirs: Through Eyes Like Mine and Overdue Apologies.Excerpts, essays, and poetry have appeared in Catapult, MeridianCompose, Kartika, Hippocampus, The Rising Phoenix Review, and Linden Avenue.



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