“Affidavit,” by Mysti Easterwood, issue #17

8/26/21: Into the Archives: staff member Liliana Hernandez on Mysti Easterwood’s “Affidavit,” issue #17

One of the most powerful things about poetry is the vivid imagery that each carefully chosen word can create. The poet Mysti Easterwood created a radiance with their piece “Affidavit” that almost illuminates the page. But this poem does more than “physically” enlighten; it is also  able to emotionally and intellectually enlighten the reader through its prominent message.

Mysti Easterwood’s poem begins by illustrating a picture of a flame slowly growing in a woman, but over time she began to forget it until that flame slowly began to dwindle inside her. The woman in the poem almost resents her flame for the fire and destruction it causes, so she tries her best to extinguish the flame within, which only results in hazy vision and smoldering flames.

An example of Easterwood’s vivid description of fire can be found in this section of the poem:

You’d never know it now

from the reddish glow in her chest – a bed

of embers, their clear, dry heat

making the air around her wrinkle and warp.

The woman was trying to extinguish her flame for the sake of what others may think, but by doing so she only hurt herself. This alludes to the deeper meaning behind this poem, which is a message of the true harm of internalized sexism. The woman hates herself for what makes her burn bright and tries her best to snuff out the flame, but in return is applauded for doing so despite the hidden pain it causes her. This aspect is best depicted through this excerpt from the poem:

For this reason she has no enemies

hidden in the folds of her mind.

It is also for this reason

she is the articulate darling of five inmost men

who are burning off her speech at an unprecedented rate

 to lay bare the Sound wandering through her.

As stated in the quotation above she “has no enemies hidden in the folds of her mind.” This can be interpreted as her thinking that by acting or speaking the way that society expects her to act, she can gain acceptance, praise, and “no enemies.” This can be clearly seen in the text through the way that she is described by males in the poem as “the articulate darling of five inmost men.” Though this poem is fiction it is sadly some women’s reality. Stifling their flame for the sake of what insecure, imposing egos and misogynistic, differing opinions may say.

Mysti Easterwood’s poem is a sad, vivid depiction of the collective yet silent pain that many women endure. The piece also carries an empowering and unapologetic tone through its beautifully enigmatic imagery of the power that a woman’s flame can embody, which is encouraging in some ways. So if you are able, I highly suggest that you pick up a copy

of Prism 17 and dive into the vibrantly bold essence that Mysti Easterwood is able to capture in her poem “Affidavit.”