NAME

say my name

quicken

my heart rate

​

CRY

cry so that the clay

that makes up your body 

softens and does not harden

​

TRANSFORMATION

once it fell it stained

leaving a mark 

with a different shape

than its original form

​

ANCESTORS

 

they imagined our existence

then theirs was questioned

 

SPIRITS IN THE COSMOS

 

when the people of the afros move

with a rhythm crocheting time and space

the ancestors are drawn to the earth from the cosmos

to whisper in the ears of the soul

the words of the universe

 

mounting heads like the crowns of kings and queens

manifesting the different versions of god

and relinquishing the secrets of the stars

 

when they body finds alignment

then the path is formed

shining light towards the infinite

lit by the many moons in the skies

 

ANTENNAS

 

as i travel through my head

navigate its hidden streets

it gets blacker

it gets stronger

it defies

gravity

 

the coils go ip

reaching for light

scattered across vast darkness

 

signaling to ancestors

their need for protection

 

RAIN

 

what happens to the spirit

when the vessel is broken

does it linger where it falls

like water after a vase is shattered

seeping out of the cracks

then evaporating into the skies

so that it can return as rain

cleansing where it once stood

 

EGUN

 

floating on sweet waters i tried to swim

but those on the white boat

told me to flow with the current

i couldn't see their faces

but i heard their voices

 

submerged

moving through vegetation

when washed away at shore

feet in the sand welcomed me

arms covered me in white cloth

 

asking me how was the journey

 

PALMTREE

 

i carried a palm tree

within my left arm

through black waters

feeling their depths

with every step

but coming out dry

when i reached my destination

 

SPACESHIPS

 

reaching the unknown

submerged in deep waters

they escaped the new world

not floating on the surface

but gliding in space

 

rather than swimming with the sharks

they swam in the heaves

still not able to breathe

 

some elevated into darkness

like the color of their earthly coating

others looked to the skies

for they needed a break from the land

that betrayed them

kept them in captivity

 

if only they had spaceships

to reach those who had drowned

 

DROWNED

 

bodies submerged

drowned in black waters

white cloth flowing

through ripples in the current

 

facing red skies

they rose but did not sink

they glided in place

looking with their eyes closed

 

VIBRATION

 

elevated

i  saw a purpose

with my body

rather than my eyes

but when i came down

i forgot i had risen

 

FLOORBOARDS

 

camouflaging our bodies

within the floors of a house we built

laying the foundation

for those to walk on

 

but when they look down

they cant help but notice

our eyes staring back at theirs
 

HONEY

 

entering the hive

welcomed by its darkness

the buzzing came

then directed towards sweetness

 

LIPS

 

caught between my teeth

strands of hair slide off my lips

i am not gagung

as i talk

locks accumulate

turning my lips black

and full of stories of those before me

 

EDEN

 

black and brown bodies

in the garden

becoming the wind

via white gowns

caressing the roses

 

IYA

 

i stood in front of the market

welcomed by

black wives

black mothers

black witches

heads covered

in white

urging me to step in

 

ANTIVENIN

 

blackness wasn't ours

we have taken the word

spit it back into the face

of those who uttered it first

who deemed us black people

who labeled a ‘condition’

 

but when we say

‘i’m black’

they remember when they said it

when they said it with venom

coming out of their mouths

but they didn't realize

that the same poison

can be used to heal