How do I feel about the man in the photos smiling wide like me

Authors

  • Mackenzie Shaw

Keywords:

reflection

Abstract

This poem was written reflecting on generational abuse and the complications that come along with un/learning it. How do we cope with the memories of people after learning about their abuse? Can we still love the versions of them that we knew? And how do we take on unlearning that behavior, and breaking the cycle, without having the space to have closure with them?

Author Biography

Mackenzie Shaw

Mackenzie “Ken” Shaw (any pronouns) is a writer and maker living on the traditional, ancestral and unced land of the Westbank First Nation. Ken performs in local open mics and slams, and as the sad and sexy drag king, KENDONTCRY. Follow all of Ken’s creative passions on instagram @dontcryken.

Black and white picture of Author Mackenzie Shaw who is standing in front of bushes.

Downloads

Published

2023-03-31

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 1 (2023): Unlearning

Section

Creative

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Mackenzie Shaw

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.