You were born with fists, Matadora.
You had to.
They all form circles around you.
You on the outside.
You on the inside.
Nobody gives you a hand.
And there was a time you simply did not care.
You were enough. Your love, was enough, for you.
They cut off the circulation.
Finding the right words to inflict pain.
The right actions to tighten their influence.
She tells you to be a nice little girl.
They scream at you. Beat you up.
And she tells you to keep smiling and behave.
She is violent too. She discriminates against you.
The pretender of peace. She evades the devil and sends him towards you.
Sacrificing you.
They scratch your surface, your texture.
You hear them laugh behind your back.
Hear them badmouth you in every corner of your mind.
The voices become a brew in your blood, a song that never stops.
Depreciaton. Good girl. Take it all in.
Keep them at bay, be silent.
Matadora’s fists directed at herself.
You never deserved this.
You were the loudest of them all.
The one with the greatest smile. The pacifist. The creator.
But they surrounded you with straightjackets.
And she called you names. She put so much effort in it.
Your name is Matadora and you were born with fists.
“Queen Zenobia’s Last Look Upon Palmyra” by Herbert Gustave Schmalz (1856-1935)
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Published by Croque-Melpomene
My name is Laura Gentile. I’m of German-Italian descent and I speak five languages such as English, German, French, Italian, Luxembourgish and I’m currently learning Romanian.
I hold a Master of Arts Degree in English Literature, Film and Visual Culture (Dissertation: The Decadent in Love with his Psychopomp: Thomas Mann's 'Death in Venice' and Adrian Lyne's 'Lolita') and a Master of Letters by Research in English Literature, Film and Visual Culture (Thesis: Romanticising Decadence and Aestheticising Death: Women as Projection Bodies and Mimetic Identities in Zola’s 'Thérèse Raquin', Schnitzler’s 'Dream Story', Süskind’s 'Perfume: The Story of a Murderer' and Eugenides’ 'The Virgin Suicides').
My poetry and short stories have been published in two anthologies entitled 'Shaking Thoughts' and 'Until Forever Becomes The End', both edited by Joan Barbara Simon PhD PhD, leading to a prose and poetry recital called 'Silence Breakers' at the Libreria Altrimenti in Luxembourg.
My article on 'Biblical Imagery and Apocalyptic Visions in Films' written for the university course 'Film And Popular Culture' was published in a Luxembourgish film magazine named 'Graffiti'.
My work was chosen as obligatory reading for the academic course 'Creative Writing' at the University of Luxembourg and was the focus of the students’ exam portfolio. I was invited by the University of Luxembourg to do a workshop on my short story 'Prophets of the Streetlight' for the 'Creative Writing' course, including a reading and a Q&A.
In 2013, I published my own collection of short stories and poetry entitled 'Seraphic Addiction', which led to an invitation by Ara City Radio to do an interview and a reading on air.
Consequently I was encouraged to create my own radio show called 'Chasse-Sirène' surrounding literature, films, music and art.
Furthermore, I am the official German translator of Joan Barbara Simon’s 'Verses Nature' trilogy.
My debut novel, 'Within Paravent Walls', will be published by WiDo Publishing / E. L. Marker.
I am the creator of "Croque-Melpomene: Femalecentric Poetry" and I have a YouTube channel carrying the same name.
I am a weekly blogger for RTL Today, a major European media platform.
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