I
Greek constellation is probably
based on the Babylonian figure
known as Mad Dog [UR*IDIM]
“Wild Beast”
of Scripture?
Cuneiform sign UR
refers to a large carnivore:
lions, wolves, dogs all included.
Sun-god, Bison-man, etcetera.
Surrounded by Hydra [Water]*Scorpion*Right Angle*Guiding Compass
Balance Scale*and Centaur.
II
Lupus.
Discoid Lupus.
Subacute Cutaneous Lupus.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.
S-L-E.
Lupus Constellation. Remus Lupin.
From the Latin. Wolf. An asterism within Centaurus. An arbitrary animal killed for Centaurus. Eratosthenes saw a wineskin. Hipparchus of Bithynia named it Therion [Beast] in 3rd century B.C. Latin translation of Ptolemy’s work associated it w/ a wolf.
III
Lazy. Bitch.
Tender. Breasts.
Anxious. Alopecia. Arthritis.
Body Ache.
Fatigue.
Weight Gain.
Bleed.
Guilt.
In My Head.
Trauma.
Emotional. Psyche.
Crazy. Going Crazy.
Bone Loss.
Brittle.
Addiction.
Pain Killer.
Prednisone.
Sick.
Making Myself Sick.
Liver. Organ. Blindness.
Infusion-IV.
Wasted Womb
Grief.
Doctors. Tests. Machines.
Blood Clot. Hemolytic.
Iron.
Deficient.
Muddy. Faucet. Anemic.
Neo-natal.
Drug Induced.
Fatal.
Father. Mother. Genetic.
Mourning. Blister.
Sore Scab Sister.
Itchy. Rash. Persistent.
IV
Lupus.
Zygomatic Lupus.
Butterfly Rash Lupus.
Maxilla Gena Bucca Lupus.
Mala.
“Bad Girl”
from Scripture?
Psychology of Lupus.
Tragic Renewal.
From the Latin. Malar. Cheek[bone]: Mala. A set of beads used by Hindus & Buddhists for keeping count while reciting, chanting, or mentally repeating a mantra or names of a deity. Rosary. A Catholic meditation or love offering for a divine mother figure. Psykhe. Butterfly-winged Greek goddess of the soul. Unmasked from Eros [Cupid’s love]. Oba. Disgraced wife of Shango. [Where river flows].
Perpetual bodies in motion. Metamorphosis.
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Contributor Notes
Womanish Activist. AfroDiasporic. Founder of The CultSTATUS Arts Haven.
Constance Sherese Collier-Mercado is an experimental writer/artist in search of all the culture she can get. Born in Chicago and raised in the Bronx, her work examines the nuanced layers found within Black dialectical, multilingual, and equivocal spaces - the literal and imagined intersections of sensory, mystic, and social identities - to include cultures of abuse, empowerment, and dis/ability.
Her poetry has been published in FIYAH Literary Magazine, Linden Avenue Literary Journal, and Kweli Journal amongst others forthcoming. An excerpt from her grief play Chelsea’s Dream: Embracing Yellow premiered as a unanimous selection at the 2015 Atlanta Black Theatre Festival and she produced a one-woman spoken word homage to The Last Poets at the 2016 Festival. She has also curated two AfroFutures Syllabus events: Hoo-Doula/Voo-Doula, which was hosted at the Auburn Avenue Research Library, and Black Sun/Black Son as a live Twitter-chat.
An alumnus of the 2017 Home School Claremont Conference, two Live to Write workshops, the 2018 VQR Writer's Conference, and the 2018 Hurston/Wright Foundation Writer's Week, Constance lives in Atlanta, GA where she is currently writing a first volume of poetry and two speculative novels. In her free time she can be found obsessing over the fact that she has no free time. Follow Constance on Twitter and Instagram @WriterChicLady.
