Eve
I was born with gills and a razor fin,
I was born with salt water
in my mouth in the middle of a cotton field.
I didn’t learn to swim until late. God kept
me from much harm. God put me in much
harm. I still got them scars from when I fell.
Folk say I got eyes like my daddy.
Folk say I walk like my daddy. I was born between
the seeds of a fig, a sticky fruit hanging low,
waiting to be devoured.
From Only Believe (The Word Works, 2024) by Jennifer Bartell Boykin. Copyright © 2024 Jennifer Bartell Boykin. Reprinted with permission of the publisher and the poet.
Jennifer Bartell Boykin
Jennifer Bartell Boykin was born and raised in Bluefield, a community in Johnsonville, South Carolina. She received a BA in English literature and creative writing from Agnes Scott College and an MFA in poetry from the University of South Carolina. She also has a master of library and information science from the University of South Carolina.