asé

Issue 9

ancestors thrum inside my throat:
(sing it out sing that pain up out of you
speak your peace with fervor
let it all spill out over your tongue
and pass it through your teeth ROAR)
 
ancestors create a cradle for my heart:
(you were lost
now you are found
you may feel your feelings here
you are dark like magic
and as full as the ocean
and you need not
PERMISSION)
 
ancestors nourish my thoughts
​with mindful balm: (child, o child,
do not get weary
continue
do not let the innards of your mind
play its tricks on you
do not RUMINATE yourself
into the bloodiness
of the pit)
 
ancestors take they hands up at me when I am overworking:
(get yo ass somewhere
and siddan
put down their iron
you have been striking
while hot
for it is scalding
the meat of your palms -
run your hands under the water
and rest.
rest.
rest.
rest.
REST.)
           

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RIEL FUQUA won 1st Place of the Poetry Writing Contest. They are a creative artist of many trades, each of them centering around the communicative art of storytelling. Much of Riel’s work focuses on the mosaic of experiences they have had as a Black, queer person residing in the deep south, including navigating interpersonal relationships, sentiments both big and small, childhood memories, the nostalgia for a reality before COVID-19, and the zest of Black, non-binary joy.

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