My left ear I pierced
My left ear I pierced to say no because I had not strength to form the word. Through the hole in my left ear I placed the gold band of my father's betrayal.
My right ear I pierced to say I am a woman: I belong to all the piercings of all women of all ages. I pierced my right ear to link arms with that first dark woman who shoved a sliver of bone through her nose to claim to reclaim. In my right ear I wear the silver loop of my survival.