ADRIANNA GORDEY

Fashion Advice from Acanthaspis Petax

Every woman I know is a cannibal. We covet &
copy the arch of another woman’s brows, pinch

cellulite into curves, purchase ungodly amounts
of lotions, creams, potions to veil our bodies’

failure to be enough. Acanthaspis petax nymphs
camouflage themselves in corpses to survive the savanna.

They wine & dine ants before designing their outerwear,
pour digestive enzymes into their cup with a heavy

hand until their tissue dissolves. Nymphs sew the leftover
exoskeleton onto their backs with sticky saliva.

My wardrobe spares men the truth of my body, its scars
& stories. No more. Wear your enemies. Cloak your shoulders

with their seashell abdomens; manipulate & masticate
thoraxes into tube tops; mandibles jagged as bread

knives weave a crown fit for a cannibal queen.

ADRIANNA GORDEY is a writer based in Manhattan, Kansas. Her work has previously appeared in the Connecticut River Review, Passengers Journal, Touchstone Literary Magazine, and elsewhere; it's forthcoming in Hunger Mountain Review, Cotton Xenomorph, and others. You can follow her on Instagram @by_adrianna_gordey.