The Black Flamingo

by Dean Atta

This book is a fairy tale in which I am the prince and the princess. I am the king and the queen. I am my own wicked witch and fairy godmother.

“Don’t let anyone tell you that you are half anything.

You are a full human being. It’s never as simple as being half and half.

“We don’t have to know each other to show each other love.”

Men are sandcastles made out of pebbles and the bucket is patriarchy: if you remove it, we fear we won’t be able to hold ourselves together, we pour in cement to fill the gaps to make ourselves concrete constructions.