"on being black, queer, and a poet"

“On being Black, Queer, and a poet”

When I first met my poet

She was wielding weapons with her words

Crept in shadows

Had universal eyes

She spoke

in notes

In bumping ideas

She walked like a heartbeat

Grew larger when she ran

Found her way up my throat and my mouth became a violin

A gun

Poet is my guide

With lamplight in the nape of my neck and the tips of my fingers

She makes phrases

Minutes

And movements

With pen and paper

Fingers and keyboard

Voice and mic

When my black entered the conversation she gave origin to my poet

Realized

My ancestry of calloused hands guided my poet along the way

My black had chains to it that got tighter with every bullet, every “hands up”

It kept my black from flying

My black knew to hide itself when faced with white men in white suits

My black became a chameleon

Ran away from its heritage

My black lost its beauty with the dislike of its presence in the face of guns and concrete

My black

Is a rose

Wilting

Wishing for more time to speak

More time to fly

Intricately weaving a plane

The Wrights could never

My black wings are pinned

But every now and then

She then stretches them out

And they dance in the language of her ancestors

Breathes freedom

With cornrows and cornbread

With every bite of sweet potato pie

She breathes culture

Rich and brave because despite what most think

You can crack colored clouds

but don’t expect rain

But my queer thinks my poet is too loud

My poet thinks my queer sits in the backseat too much

My black tells them both to shut up

At dinner

Ther is no seat for queer at the table

She sits on the floor

Makes a chair with pride

My black eats less than my poet but niether eats as little as Queer

Queer is

Malnourished

Backbone non existent

But has ribs that gasp for air

Society holds a standard

That my queer

My black and

My poet haye

Society has the definition of perfection in the creases or my fears and reaches for it often

I am human before I am black

I am Queer after I am human

I am Poet before all