I want to speak about bodies that changed into new forms. And you, gods, who altered them… -Ovid Zeus walks by in a three-piece suit, smelling like ozone, casual thunder, money. You remember how he came to you in the apple orchard, bright face of a boy, swan feathers in his hair, how fingers skimmed your skin and you cried when he crawled inside. Now his silhouette has shifted, hard-nosed and high-cheeked, trunk of marble, feet of stone. Silver cufflinks separate the animal from the man. And no, you don’t want to talk about bodies that change forms, or the lightning in flesh bottles keeping them there. The conqueror storms through glass office doors, ignores your complaints, knowing he’ll never sweat or bleed, tear or be changed, not like you have.
Arah Ko is a writer from Hawai'i and the author of Brine Orchid (YesYes Books, 2025) and Animal Logic (Bull City Press, 2025). Her work has appeared in American Poetry Review, Ninth Letter, The Threepenny Review, New Ohio Review, and elsewhere. Arah was nominated for Best of the Net and Best New Poets and received her MFA in creative writing from the Ohio State University. Arah edits at Surging Tide Magazine. Catch her at arahko.com.
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The sort of poem that makes you forget to breathe.....
oh. wow. (oh.)
so good.