Samantha Lucia

Samantha Lucia (she/her) is a queer poet and photographer based in Asheville, NC. Her creative work is shaped by chronic illness and religious deconstruction. She approaches both mediums as acts of witness, with heightened sensitivity to the body and inherited belief systems. Her work appears or is forthcoming in Poetries in English, January House Literary, Witches Magazine, Fang & Flower Literary Magazine, and Yin Literary, among others. Socials: @iamsamanthalulu.

Easy read of the poem in the images above:

ABOVE and BELOW

CW: references violence/persecution faced by LGBTQIA2S+ community, religious questioning, existential themes

The soul

cloaked in flesh

THE MATH

Afterlife = No Gender

“Why (on earth),” I ask, “is it so important (on earth)?”

“Babies – Procreation”

say

THEY

For what?

Non-consensual existence?

And when the

mind,

soul,

body

is not embodied

as society demands it

we have the

< persecution of a spark >

that never asked to be conjured

Just for this little light

of OURS

to be snuffed out

before it has

the chance to shine

But if it’s

‘thy kingdom come

thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.’

(if you really mean it)

then

THE MATH

Earthbound = Genitals are none of your goddamn business

(except for your own, if you dare)

Now –

THAT TRUTH

shall set you free