from The Black Maria
Body of sight. Body of
breaths. Body of trying.
Beloved, to
day you eat,
today you bathe, today
you laugh
Today you walk,
today you read,
today you paint, my love,
Today you study stars,
today you write,
today you climb the stairs,
Today you run,
today you see,
today you talk,
You cut the basil
You sweep the floor
& as you chore, touch
the ankles & hairs of your befores
who look up from their work
in the field or at the chisel
to tell you in their ways: You Live!
Copyright © 2015 by Aracelis Girmay. Reprinted from Split This Rock’s The Quarry: A Social Justice Poetry Database.