demothering.
soft.
liveable.
–– before you get that key made
the worst
thing that ever happened
to
the world
was
the white man coming across gun powder.
–– the end of the world | the beginning of white supremacy
soon
the moon will come from my lips
and
you will not remember your name.
–– oshún
there is a phantom language in my mouth.
a tongue beneath my tongue.
will i ever
remember what
i sound
like.
will i ever come home.
–– african american i
i lost a whole continent.
a whole continent from my memory.
unlike all other hyphenated americans
my hyphen is made of blood. feces. bone.
when africa says hello
my mouth is a heartbreak
because i have nothing in my tongue
to answer her.
i do not know how to say hello to my mother.
–– african american ii
can you be a daughter.
if you have no
mother language.
–– african american iii
how beautiful
that you can lay down a map
and with a straight finger
show me who you are.
you say
'show me, show me who you are.'
i tell my soft tight finger
'do not be afraid'
i slow and lightly
lay it on africa (as if i do not belong to her)
and
then
you ask me
‘where.’
–– african american iiii
we are afraid.
ashamed.
of
africa.
–– the secret we never say | african american iiiii
i like
the heat
in certain words.
the warm travel.
the low sun.
you do not have to be a fire
for
every mountain blocking you.
you could be a water
and
soft river your way to freedom
too.
–– options
sometimes the night wakes in the
middle of me
and i can do nothing
but
become the moon.
i want to see
brown and black folks
photographed
by
brown and black eyes.
–– eyes
to not be safe on the earth.
simply
because
of the color of your skin.
how does a being survive this.
–– trayvon martin
if
a man
can
only show vulnerability
for
what is between my legs.
can
only
be
a
heart
during
sex.
if an orgasm
is
the only way
he
can
weep.
what is his life
but
a cage.
–– prison
listen to my poems.
but
do not look for me.
look for you.
–– you
i am not yours.
i did not make the long hard journey through and across
the spirit world
to
be a man’s ocean.
my body is not yours.
my mouth is not yours.
my water is not yours.
nothing i am belongs to you.
unless i decide
to
open my hand
and
give it to you.
–– birthmarks
you will find your way.
it is
in the
same place
as
your love.
–– seek
when
you tell your self
‘you can have your energy back.’
after years
of
giving
it
to white people.
and
their
requirements for acceptance. for supple colonization.
digesting
their beliefs.
thoughts.
opinions.
of
you.
when you remove them from your nucleus.
your being is then
allowed
to
focus
its power
on
turning your life.
into.
your soul’s work.
you become yours.
again.
–– decolonization | center
to
call me
black.
is
one of the most beautiful.
incredible.
compliments
you could ever give me.
–– insult
your skin
smells
like light.
i think you are
the
moon.
i broke myself
dreaming of you last night.
the
water and flowers
have been
working on me all morning.
–– seamstresses
if you show
someone the sun in your bones
and they reject you
you must remember.
they hurt themselves this very same way.
–– unable
‘no’
might make them angry
but
it will make you free.
–– if no one has ever told you, your freedom is more important than their anger
there is a tender thing
i am made of.
i have always felt before i breathe.
and what if i write of you.
is that more love than you can handle.
be a lion.
i will still be water.
where are my legs. where are my legs. i had to give them to my babies so they could swim back home to me. back home to me. back home to me. i rubbed the sun all in their hair. every single birth. i rubbed sun in their hair. so they remember who they look like. who they look like.
soft.
liveable.
–– before you get that key made
the worst
thing that ever happened
to
the world
was
the white man coming across gun powder.
–– the end of the world | the beginning of white supremacy
soon
the moon will come from my lips
and
you will not remember your name.
–– oshún
there is a phantom language in my mouth.
a tongue beneath my tongue.
will i ever
remember what
i sound
like.
will i ever come home.
–– african american i
i lost a whole continent.
a whole continent from my memory.
unlike all other hyphenated americans
my hyphen is made of blood. feces. bone.
when africa says hello
my mouth is a heartbreak
because i have nothing in my tongue
to answer her.
i do not know how to say hello to my mother.
–– african american ii
can you be a daughter.
if you have no
mother language.
–– african american iii
how beautiful
that you can lay down a map
and with a straight finger
show me who you are.
you say
'show me, show me who you are.'
i tell my soft tight finger
'do not be afraid'
i slow and lightly
lay it on africa (as if i do not belong to her)
and
then
you ask me
‘where.’
–– african american iiii
we are afraid.
ashamed.
of
africa.
–– the secret we never say | african american iiiii
i like
the heat
in certain words.
the warm travel.
the low sun.
you do not have to be a fire
for
every mountain blocking you.
you could be a water
and
soft river your way to freedom
too.
–– options
sometimes the night wakes in the
middle of me
and i can do nothing
but
become the moon.
i want to see
brown and black folks
photographed
by
brown and black eyes.
–– eyes
to not be safe on the earth.
simply
because
of the color of your skin.
how does a being survive this.
–– trayvon martin
if
a man
can
only show vulnerability
for
what is between my legs.
can
only
be
a
heart
during
sex.
if an orgasm
is
the only way
he
can
weep.
what is his life
but
a cage.
–– prison
listen to my poems.
but
do not look for me.
look for you.
–– you
i am not yours.
i did not make the long hard journey through and across
the spirit world
to
be a man’s ocean.
my body is not yours.
my mouth is not yours.
my water is not yours.
nothing i am belongs to you.
unless i decide
to
open my hand
and
give it to you.
–– birthmarks
you will find your way.
it is
in the
same place
as
your love.
–– seek
when
you tell your self
‘you can have your energy back.’
after years
of
giving
it
to white people.
and
their
requirements for acceptance. for supple colonization.
digesting
their beliefs.
thoughts.
opinions.
of
you.
when you remove them from your nucleus.
your being is then
allowed
to
focus
its power
on
turning your life.
into.
your soul’s work.
you become yours.
again.
–– decolonization | center
to
call me
black.
is
one of the most beautiful.
incredible.
compliments
you could ever give me.
–– insult
your skin
smells
like light.
i think you are
the
moon.
i broke myself
dreaming of you last night.
the
water and flowers
have been
working on me all morning.
–– seamstresses
if you show
someone the sun in your bones
and they reject you
you must remember.
they hurt themselves this very same way.
–– unable
‘no’
might make them angry
but
it will make you free.
–– if no one has ever told you, your freedom is more important than their anger
there is a tender thing
i am made of.
i have always felt before i breathe.
and what if i write of you.
is that more love than you can handle.
be a lion.
i will still be water.
where are my legs. where are my legs. i had to give them to my babies so they could swim back home to me. back home to me. back home to me. i rubbed the sun all in their hair. every single birth. i rubbed sun in their hair. so they remember who they look like. who they look like.
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