The anklet
Evie Shockley
my sister’s visit
to india begins
it. i asked for a sari,
but received
what would fit
in her pack.
silver. link
after link, bone
interlocked with
O. a blossom
of bells at the clasp.
months elapsed
before i dared
to wear it. finally,
the snaky spine
shining against
my skin. a tinkling
paces me when i
walk, brings
would-be lovers
to my feet.
the encircling gift
is a freedom:
the one leg chained
only to itself.
Evie Shockley - Evie Shockley was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee. She is the author of
The Gorgon Goddess(Carolina Wren Press, 2001). Her poetry and fiction have
appeared in journals and anthologies, includingBlack Arts Quarterly, Blue Mesa
Review, Callaloo, Crab Orchard Review, The North American Review, Obsidian
III, Catch the Fire!: A Cross-Generational Anthology of Contemporary African-
American Poetry, and Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the
African Diaspora. Shockley is a graduate fellow of Cave Canem and was awarded
a residency at Hedgebrook Retreat for Women Writers in 2003.
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poetry and literature Evie Shockley, The anklet