salt.

by Nayyirah Waheed

i am always writing. of you. for you.

you broke the ocean in half to be here. only to meet nothing that wants you. – immigrant

would you still want to travel to that country if you could not take a camera with you. – a question of appropriation

she asked ‘you are in love what does love look like’ to which i replied ‘like everything i’ve ever lost come back to me.’

are your eyes blushing ?

i bleed every month. but do not die. how am i not magic. – the lie

both. i want to stay. i want to leave. i am three oceans away from my soul. – lost

i lied. i told you i was not afraid to love you. then i walked away. and loved you. – i have spent my whole life alone. loving you. | when we choose fear

if i write what you may feel but cannot say. it does not make me a poet. it makes me a bridge. and i am humbled and i am grateful to assist your heart in speaking. – grateful

expect sadness like you expect rain. both cleanse you. – natural

he was so beautiful because when he held her he was not concerned with ‘being a man.’ ‘being a man’ had nothing to do with this. these flowers pouring from his chest. – weight

you are sore from all of the white women in magazines. coaxing you out of your skin. their fragrance is all over your friends at school. you can smell it. the heat of whiteness on their necks. ‘maybe,’ as your hands. brush pain and relief into your face. ‘maybe, now’ you say, ‘the world will leave me alone.’ – bleach

you will drown if you do not have boundaries. they are not optional. this structure counts on your inability to say no. mean no. they take no from our first breath. go back and return it to your mouth. your heart. your light. – swim | women of color

you see your face. you see a flaw. how. if you are the only one who has this face. – the beauty construct

white people are not chinese. because they are born/live in china. white people are not indian. because they are born/live in india. white people are not african. because they are born/live on a continent they murdered their way into. – there is no such thing as a white african | colonial blood myths | a revisionist history

stay soft. it looks beautiful on you.

she washes the sea on her knees. – salt

i am a black wave in a white sea. always seen and unseen. – the difference

do not put your hand in the mouth of loneliness. its teeth are soft but it will scar you for life. – do not be seduced by the lonely ones

cry wild. you have probably never cried wild. but, you know what doors feel like. you have an intimacy with doors that is killing you. – break

why can we never talk about the blood. the blood of our ancestors. the blood of our history. the blood between our legs. – blood

racism is a translucent skin. it defends itself by attacking itself. – reverse racism

if we. are with child. and you believe that fatherhood begins when my body pours a baby into your hands. not before. you do not deserve this child. you are a coward. – you are a father the moment you enter me

i am a woman and a poem. – visceral

the worst thing that ever happened to the world was the white man coming across gun powder. – the end of the world | the beginning of white supremacy

to not be safe on the earth. simply because of the color of your skin. how does a being survive this. – trayvon martin

you will find your way. it is in the same place as your love. – seek

‘no’ might make them angry. but it will make you free. – if no one has ever told you, your freedom is more important than their anger

the most gorgeous thing on a human being. vulnerability. – want

all that was taken from me is still here. – root | immortal

even if you are a small forest surviving off of moon alone. your light is extraordinary. – reminder

some people when they hear your story. contract. others upon hearing your story. expand. and this is how you know.

if you are softer than before they came. you have been loved.

if someone does not want me it is not the end of the world. but if i do not want me. the world is nothing but endings.

you are not a mistake. you are too many exquisite details to be a mistake.

i do not want to be liked. i want to be myself. – fiction

remember. you were a writer before you ever put word to paper. just because you were not writing externally. does not mean you were not writing internally. – stories

if we wanted to. people of color could burn the world down. for what we have experienced. are experiencing. but we don’t. – how stunningly beautiful that our sacred respect for the earth. for life. is deeper than our rage

if i have never seen you cry. if you do not cry. if you do not value or respect the needs of your water. you and i cannot form. if you cannot allow your own being to wash over you. how will mine ever make it past your skin. – available

i think one of the most pathological things i have ever seen is stabbing someone and then telling them that their pain and anger over being stabbed is making you sad. – white guilt