I was born in a hospital away from where the ash-stained people clung to the light coming from a cathedral’s shattered roof.

I was never close to my father, and I found his tendency to stray his eyes toward another woman distasteful.

Staying with my mother after they separated, I poked holes in the anthill in our backyard, spilling sunlight into their catacombs.

There were nights when I wished that our family were still tethered by that hospital.

What else can you do with this tether than to use it to learn the syntax of lungs and sinews?

Cracks appeared in my body, and my childhood seeped out like white light.

You know it is not your calling when you know it isn’t.

My eyes were keener; I could tell someone was nervous by the way they held air in their lungs, how their sinews locked when the verdict fell.

In the same year, I was elected to a local government position and was married to the man who would father our four children.

Power possessed a magic that could get people high.

A known procedure in the hospital—everywhere, really—was to always wash your hands when you get them dirtied.

My eyes were as sharp as an eagle’s: I could see every hideout my enemies used.

This trick never failed me: cut the throat of the bird before it sings out its pain.

It breaks my heart a little when I hear my people wailing at midnight over a lifeless bird lying on the concrete.

How can you be a villain if you’re dedicated to pursuing the righteous path?

My father says women cannot lead, and so I led my people out of the cathedral and into the blazing sun.

Green, like the hospital gowns and scrubs, became my signature color.

In less than twenty days, I can make everything disappear.

The birds I let out learned to sing songs with gusto and rhythm with just a sweep of my stick.

Unable to contain my anger, I protected my people from my ally using profanities.

I am married to the grace of my job; all this is merely a chip on my shoulder.

I announced to my countrymen that I would run for a national position.

I stared at the light to drown the bird’s lull in my ears.

The Frontman