Photo by Jake Gard on Unsplash
In anticipation of PRISM’s Ruin themed issue 57.3, we’re so excited to share some exclusive content by one of our amazing contributing poets, Tenille K Campbell. More of Tenille’s work can be found in the upcoming issue, so be sure to get a subscription now!
questions
I wonder if you would
love me
if my thighs had gaps to
let in the setting sun
if my curves were rolling hills and shallow lakes
instead of mountains and oceans
if my skin ran smooth over muscles
instead of water rippling over rapids
I wonder if you would
love me
if my bones were delicate and hollow
sustained only on your compliments
if my stomach lay flat and unscarred
untouched by birth and life
if my feet were tiny like a hummingbird
instead of flat and wide to grip the earth
I wonder if you would
love me
if my breasts were a dainty handful instead
of spilling through your fingers
if my mouth was only used for your pleasure
instead of reciting poetry aimed to cut
if my mind only thought of you setting aside talks of
decolonization and language reclamation
I wonder if you would love me if I
wasn’t me at all
Tenille K Campbell is a Dene/Métis author and photographer from English River First Nation in Northern Saskatchewan. She completed her MFA in Creative Writing from UBC and is enrolled in her PhD at University of Saskatchewan, focusing in Indigenous Literature. Her inaugural poetry book, #IndianLovePoems (Signature Editions, 2017) is an award-winning collection of poetry that focuses on Indigenous Erotica—using humour, storytelling and sensuality to reclaim and explore ideas of Indigenous sexuality. #IndianLovePoemshas placed in the poetry category in the WILLA Literary Awards (USA), as well as the first Indigenous Voices Awards (Canada), and has won two Saskatchewan Book Awards —the Indigenous Peoples’ Writing Award and the First Book Award. She is the owner and artist behind sweetmoon photography, a successful photography business that specializes in photographing Indigenous people. She is also the co-creator of tea&bannock, an online collective blog featuring the photographs and stories of Indigenous women photographers throughout Canada.