Diannely Antigua

DIARY ENTRY#1: TESTIMONY

I hope no one reads this—
I was pregnant in the purple dress

when I escaped from the house.
I was going camping, I was going to Canada. I was

missing a girl who was not a bride.
And I’m still searching for

the face. There was a surgery,
a bald head, and a grieving. Tomorrow

I will apologize
about that burst, my ugly ghost.

I’ll feel guilty for two people. I’ll go
to the bathroom to get married

and dream of a driveway. In the dream, I’ll feel
the kiss. It’s the year 2000

and I did all my homework. The pastor
suspects nothing. I’m only twelve.

We play the weird game.
And that’s not the end.

DIANNELY ANTIGUA is a Dominican American poet and educator born and raised in Massachusetts. She received her BA in English from the University of Massachusetts Lowell and her MFA in poetry from NYU. She is the recipient of fellowships from CantoMundo and the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley. Her book Ugly Music, forthcoming from YesYes Books, was chosen for the 2017 Pamet River Prize for women and nonbinary writers. Her poems can be found in The Adroit Journal, Cosmonauts Avenue, Day One, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, and Vinyl.