The first spell I learned Was when my friend pointed at a digital clock and said, "Eleven eleven. Make a wish." 11:11 One one one one In every half second My heart prays eleven times eleven times That you were still alive I don't wish that you would come back Because every story that told... Continue Reading →
I remember sitting on your bed in your dorm room- It was a single, just one of many signs that you were often lucky in circumstance- Listening to you talk about the guy you had a crush on, who was white, But you thought it could work, even though your parents were conservative and African.... Continue Reading →
To make an old fashioned cocktail,Preferably with rye, You take a small glass tumbler, Put a cube of sugar on the bottom, Pour bitters over the sugar, Then muddle. Put in an ice cube, Then pour the whiskey on top. Garnish with a rind of citrus. This is an old fashioned love poem. Old fashioned... Continue Reading →
Do you ever feel like some feelings Come from different moments in time But feel the same way Like how watching a pretty girl curl her hair with a flat iron in a TikTok tutorial Feels like when you were 18 dancing in a club with pretty lights And you had X’s on your hands?... Continue Reading →
I said a prayer in the shower. I covered my face with both of my hands and let the water fall on my hair. An evening baptismal In the same place I have ached and cried Since I was much smaller. My childhood home. I dried off. I lit four candles One for opportunity One... Continue Reading →
When I grow up, I will make wishes And not tell anyone. Like when you blow the candles out on your birthday And keep the secret to yourself. I don’t know how to keep anything to myself. It always pours out of me like blood or vomit, Spilling everywhere and it’s messy, Falling into the... Continue Reading →
In less than 2 hours I’m on another planet, Where mermaids walk on land And sugar is salty and sour, Where witches bask in the moonlight And offer you a taste of their homemade cigarettes, As they stare out into the middle of nothing Wishing their black hair would turn gray Like the ash that... Continue Reading →
Feeling loss Is a natural release. It is sorrow that flows effortlessly. To lose people who were never really your friends, Is like exfoliating dead skin; There’s still a little trauma Where the new flesh is slightly red and tender From it happening so suddenly and a bit roughly and all at once. My world... Continue Reading →
I think about you, sweet brown baby. Your mother could have been one of my students. You are both cold and the ground is hard. A toothbrush would not have been too much. When you cough, Does your mother’s hand soothe your back, Or is it too stiff from aching with weariness? A pillow would... Continue Reading →
What does solitude look like? It looks like bluish gray fog in the early evening outside, And a pink lightbulb in an empty bedroom inside. It looks like a 6-year old cat slowly blinking at you only one time. What does solitude taste like? It tastes like a cup of black tea with vanilla soy... Continue Reading →
Sankofa Virgo 