like my head wrap unfurled flagged
a poached coast fashion motherland magazine
colored girl cover girl bent over nameless
coupons and full page spread inside
a poached coast fashion motherland magazine
mannequin dunked in chocolate pretzel posed
coupons and full page spread inside
deboned battered chicken lard fried
mannequin dunked in chocolate pretzel posed
by my work-thick hands knuckle cracked
deboned battered chicken lard fried
minimum wage manicure lickety spit shined
by my work-thick hands knuckle cracked
plastic hanger cotton picked sweat dazzling
minimum wage manicure lickety spit shined
can I help you can I help you can I help
plastic hanger cotton picked sweat dazzling
snatching exactly that off the rack
can I help you can I help you can I help
our house nigga hips popping hard left right
snatching exactly that off the rack
movements razed-village economical
our house nigga hips popping hard left right
while speakers blast pop stick girls all white
movements razed-village economical
we browse through this bloodless coup
while speakers blast pop stick girls all white
guts of mama’s gospel scooped out freeze dried
we browse through this bloodless coup
wallets fat with daddy’s teeth
guts of mama’s gospel scooped out freeze dried
tossed into baskets soul sore and tongueless
wallets fat with daddy’s teeth
cavitied currency without a country
tossed into baskets soul sore and tongueless
ghost-heavy bruised sky blue collar blackness
cavitied currency without a country
like my head wrap unfurled flagged
ghost-heavy bruised sky blue collar blackness
colored girl cover girl bent over nameless
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Contributor Notes
Kemi Alabi is a Black queerdo from and for the future. Their poetry and essays appear or are forthcoming in The Guardian, The Toast, Winter Tangerine, Apogee Journal, HEArt, and elsewhere. Based in Oakland, CA, they coordinate Echoing Ida, a Forward Together community of Black women and non-binary writers. Watch them lurk @kemiaalabi.
