after Carrie Mae Weems’s Roaming series Before I knew how to fill my onyx body with slick measures, dip every curve in my skin with dark sway, I needed a picture. Before me stood a long black dress I called Woman— you stand opaque with your back to me, a statue of witness, the door of Yes— I can Return to the monument of your silhouette to find my longest muscle. We both stare down the ocean to stillness. O, Carrie— what are you trying to tell me here? I’ve been standing by water my whole damn life trying to get saved.
From I Can’t Talk About the Trees Without the Blood. Copyright © 2018 by Tiana Clark. Used with the permission of University of Pittsburgh Press.