Growing a Callus
Gentle thumbs trace flaking skin; a hammered heart forms a thick callus.
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From ULR
Issue 9 – Violence
Growing a Callus
Gentle thumbs trace flaking skin; a hammered heart forms a thick callus.
February 10, 2026
Three decades later
we still hold hands.
My dermatitis infected fingers
entwined in yours
the gentle brush of your thumb
against my flaky skin.
You are kind, I think.
Last night you drilled through my heart
and hammered the tacks in.
Now your hands caress crusty scales,
breathing under a layer of salve
you rubbed this morning.
Can I ever hurt? you ask
The gaping hole in my heart
has grown a callus.
No, I mumble.
📖
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Sonia Dogra
Sonia is an accidental poet and short story writer based in Delhi. Her writings have appeared and are forthcoming in The Kali Project, Write in Power, Amity, Kitaab, Tell Me Your Story, Recipe for a Perfect Marriage, A Body of Memories, The Hooghly Review & Flash Flood Journal among others. An ex-educator, copyeditor and nature enthusiast, she dreams of owning a book café in the hills. Discover her writing on A Hundred Quills or follow on Twitter SoniaDogra16