Fibromyalgia

Maria Santa Poggi

I found the diagnosis on the internet.
The symptoms read like a record of my personal failings.

Uneven hips and shoulders to match—
the quills of a porcupine puncture my nerve endings.

I live in fear of strangers on the street noticing
my lack of symmetry. When I just want to

rotate my hips into a gallery exhibition downtown.
To admire paintings on the wall without hearing the screams of my body.

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Maria Santa Poggi is currently a student at Marymount Manhattan College. Her poetry has been published in The Carson Review, and Trnsfr Sip Cup. She also has an essay published in Bridge Eight Press.