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My anomaly

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 April 2026

Ijeoma Julie Eche-Ugwu Open the ORCID record for Ijeoma Julie Eche-Ugwu [Opens in a new window]
Ijeoma Julie Eche-Ugwu*
Affiliation:
Phyllis F. Cantor Center for Research in Nursing and Patient Care Services, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, USA Harvard Medical School
*
Email: ijeomaj_eche@dfci.harvard.edu
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Abstract

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Information

Type
Poetry
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 24 , 2026 , e122
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Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press.

My anomaly

I often wonder,
is it my hair?
the bends of the braids
that upends the curled grades
and weaves my back
àzụm
my native tongue
I often wonder
is it my stance?
the calf that affirms
and seeks to assign
the ground beyond frown
over raffia palm, I float
in and out of time
I often wonder
is it my laughter?
the crackling troughs
that uncover the blows
the pause,
the shaded cracks
and joy claps
I often wonder
is it my skin?
coal scorched within
thinning in fold
sinning in roads
raptured by trench town yard
tunes to Marley and Tosh
I often wonder
is it my response?
that staples silenced rooms
while nursing brooms
the anomaly I see
that I resist
as I exist

Funding

No funding support to declare.

Competing interests

No conflicts of interest to declare.