China Doll

Not a garden snake,
I need a King Cobra—
pivot my hips, peer in
your mirror—

Eyes slant down, begin
my tutor—
head bent bow, repeat
my ancestors—

You not laughin’ now
 do you not laugh?

Wheel the clay in, smack
it from the back—

Grab her throat,
 she tryna wrestle

Pound ‘til thin, fill
thy vessel—

She wanna gag,
 she wanna choke

throw wood to pyre—
preen and stoke—My little China Doll
crafted by your hand
coronating in the reflection

—become a man