Variations of Distaste
Nazifa Islam
a found poem: The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
People blame me for not being
happy—for feeling
that life is not
an experience of wonder—
and so I feel unaccountably limited
so awkward, so horribly
stupid. I am sick of admitting
that I am afraid
of being
a painful responsibility.
I want days that have no edges.
I want to be content
with my lot.
I am struggling to find myself
with feeling I am sad and blind—
overshadowed by everyone.
What do I do
with my one grotesque life?
Nazifa Islam is the author of the poetry collections Searching for a Pulse (Whitepoint Press) and Forlorn Light: Virginia Woolf Found Poems (Shearsman Books). Her poems have appeared in Gulf Coast, The Missouri Review, The Southern Review, Smartish Pace, and Beloit Poetry Journal among other publications. She earned her MFA at Oregon State University. You can find her @nafoopal.