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napowrimo: love notes to black liberation

this is my third year (i think) of doing national poetry writing month (napowrimo). looking forward to it. the first time was random, the second time i did a sci fi queer love story. this month my work will be various love notes to black liberation. i’ll follow the prompts they offer if they feel right.

prompt: write a Kay-Ryan-esque poem: short, tight lines, rhymes interwoven throughout, maybe an animal or two, and, if you can manage to stuff it in, a sharp little philosophical conclusion.

but i promised
more than i spoke my own name
shameless and blame free
to god, to artemis
to fred, to elouise:
if i see my whole face
my real face
i will love it, honest

i missed it
more than the sun rose
than the waves smashed in
shaping shells, cracking bones
than the sleep crept over me
foggy sun, day is done
it was t/here all along
i was taught to fear it
sheer terror when alone in it

my whole life
the whole night
was watching me
was pitch black
was star sprung
waiting to see
me see her