‘Fragmented’

Donald Patten is an artist and cartoonist from Belfast, Maine. He produces oil paintings, illustrations, ceramic pieces and graphic novels. His art has been exhibited in galleries across Maine. His online portfolio is donaldlpatten.newgrounds.com/art

Fragmented

I think there was a fear of self

that had found a home 

within my bones

as a child, I had been left with 

discarded pieces of safety 

& forced to imagine what 

unconditional love felt like 

stranded 

& made to scratch away

at my skin—

a desperate attempt to 

understand why I deserved neglect 

& question what was wrong with me 

thought that if I searched within 

& dissected myself enough 

I would uncover what needed to be changed 

yet the more I looked, the more I started to hate, the more I started to compare, the more I started to question, the more parts of myself became 

                                        s h a t t e r e d 

         by 

                                                                   m y       

                                             o wn        

        h an ds 

                            until 

                    I had 

                                        been 

                                                                  left

      with

                             nothing—

my 

                                                        identity 

               fragmented 

but as I have been attempting to 

figure out who I am now 

& 

constructing my foundation of needs 

I have discovered that 

home is a hug of self love 

that will never let you go 

& 

home is about finding 

the pieces of yourself 

that you abandoned long ago

& 

finally allowing them 

a safe space to live within your bones

Chloe Kultgen graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato with a BFA in Creative Writing. When she’s not reminiscing on the past or speculating about the future, she enjoys spending time by Lake Michigan looking for hidden treasures that wash ashore.