nejma

by Nayyirah Waheed

all the women. in me. are tired.

i am mine. before i am ever anyone else’s.

melanin. is the world. before this world. before the word. slave. during the word. slave. after the word. slave. it is the books. written into yourself. wild math in the pads of your feet. soft science in your hair. language down your back. invention in your mouth.

i have a life to garden. a multiverse to wake from sleep. — giants