18 Jan Metaphysical Twitch by Margaret Saigh
In high school health class
we measured our body fat percentages
in front of our peers. I’ve passed out
three times in my life. One of them was there.
We were watching a Dr. Phil segment
on anorexic teen girls in order to learn
about the dangers of eating disorders. I misread
emaciated as emancipated
on the chyron at the bottom of the screen; pinched bunch of calf
between the proffered calipers; for a long time
I subdivided myself. I remember not eating
that day I fell
out of consciousness. Rose to the yellow
bus in a daze. The ink moving
once suspended. Poem about a ribcage. Ferns
elongating. Talk about a simple bone
to pick. Breaking. Any day now.
we measured our body fat percentages
in front of our peers. I’ve passed out
three times in my life. One of them was there.
We were watching a Dr. Phil segment
on anorexic teen girls in order to learn
about the dangers of eating disorders. I misread
emaciated as emancipated
on the chyron at the bottom of the screen; pinched bunch of calf
between the proffered calipers; for a long time
I subdivided myself. I remember not eating
that day I fell
out of consciousness. Rose to the yellow
bus in a daze. The ink moving
once suspended. Poem about a ribcage. Ferns
elongating. Talk about a simple bone
to pick. Breaking. Any day now.
About the Poet
Margaret Saigh is the author of the chapbooks I’ve created a thing that will never bring me pleasure (Pitymilk Press, 2025) and CROSSED IN THE DARKER LIGHT OF TERROR (dancing girl press 2022) as well as other chapbooks. She is the creator of circlet, a poetry workshop and reading series. Her writing has been published widely in print and across the web. She received an MFA from the University of Pittsburgh. This poem appears in her latest chapbook I’ve created a thing that will never bring me pleasure published last year by Pitymilk Press.
Related Event
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- On Thursday, January 22 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Just Buffalo Literary Center Teaching Artist Margaret Saigh will lead the latest installment of Teachers ARE Writers, an ongoing JBLC creative writing workshop series that provides space for school teachers and educators to explore their own creative work and writing practice, with space for discussion and exploration.This workshop is FREE and designed for teachers. Buffalo Public School teachers can register on PGS; non-BPS teachers register by emailing Molly Eldridge at MEldridge@buffaloschools.org. The location is Just Buffalo Writing Center, 468 Washington Street, 2nd Floor, Buffalo, NY 14203. For additional information, contact info@justbuffalo.org.
The Poem of the Week feature is curated by literary legacy awardee R.D. Pohl.