a home for unwanted hands

to these thirsty men / a black girl’s body / is a home for unwanted hands / wandering like my body / is a land of plenty of opportunity / & it never stops there / their mouths at times / have leaked comments / that make me sound like a thing / that needs to be devoured / an animal for the continual slaughter / it’s been some time / since i’ve been / in a situation such as that / but moments get etched in my mind / like a carving

 

i don’t write praises

(tw: minor ED mention)

there have been more moments
where i have squeezed my body
more than praised it
where i have knelt in front of the toilet
where i’ll compare my body
to an image i’ll never capture
of one of those black girls
who has a skinny waist & hips
my point is
i don’t write much in the way of praises
on my skin
i write tragedies
& wait for someone to see past
a fake smile & an “uh huh”

Vanessa Maki is a writer (& other things) who is queer & full of black girl magic. She has work in various places such as Entropy, Susan/The Journal, Rising Phoenix Press, Sad Girl Review among others & is forthcoming in Sorority Mansion among others. She is founder/editor of yell/shout/scream & rose quartz journal. Her debut chapbook “press ctrl-alt-delete” is available on Gumroad.  Follow her twitter & visit her site.

Image: Ciudad Perdida trek 48 by McKay Savage (Creative Commons)