woman king
By Emily Mardelle
I cut my hair off because my father would slide
his hands over my stomach and tell me how fat I was getting
and I
I think sometimes I want to make a woman king
so the moon can finally avenge the girls in the nighttime
imagine her thick hair long and her breasts full
and free
Emily Mardelle is an emerging writer whose essay “The Monster in My Corner” was published by the online magazine Sweatpants & Coffee in April 2019. She previously worked as a blogger for Arizona’s Superstition Review, where she was a liaison between national writers and the magazine. She graduated from Arizona State University in the spring of 2020 with a degree in English Literature and a minor in Sociology. Emily’s work draws from her experiences with PTSD, bisexuality, and womanhood. She currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona. Follow her on Instagram @emilymardelle and Twitter @emmardell.
Hangakujo, female samurai, from the U.S. Library of Congress.