From the poetry collection The Gospel of Breaking. Published by Arsenal Pulp Press in 2020. Reprinted with permission from the publisher.
In response to patti smith’s “rock ’n’ roll nigger,” in response to solidarity is for white women, and in response to my white, activist, feminist, poet friend who let slip from her mouth a humorous exclamation of “NIGGA, PLEASE!” They said I could be a feminist too! after all, they are going to need someone at the meeting who knows how to tighten up all those white-girl dreadlocks oh yes they said I could be a feminist that is of course as long as I don’t ask any questions try not to mention the dirty mouths of old icons or how proudly mother deities suffered themselves black and dirty blue and bruised so they could use one of the really good words words made for the megaphone-mouths of punk rock stars words like nigger like everything that’s yours is going to be mine for the using like didn’t you know what we were doing here like go on give them your story you’ll see how it shines like fresh blood for the cameras there are going to be a lot of cameras and they said I could help must be good for something must be some big-toothed benefactor that would just eat me up articulate black girl such as myself just the right amount of mad Shhhhh! They didn’t mean it like that, no need to get upset! We’re all in this together alright then put me on the front lines give me your blackest most brackish kind of weather this thick skin is just waiting to be good for something yes please give me a nice big sign that reads ME TOO! or maybe me too? If that sounds better you know? They said I could be a feminist as long as I don’t talk about this black girl body about that cold red body of water about an inheritance so great that no one body could apologize it away as long as I don’t remind anyone where so many of the ideas for this movement came from anyway no one likes a know-it-all and yes even in this progress someone has got to play the fuel all of us have to make ourselves useful and surely no one has yet forgotten how sweetly and happily dark bodies take to making kindling they said i could help they said i could be the best kind of help