For Semenya
Nov 20th, 2009 | By phoenixpoet | Category: Poetry | 493 viewsNo one ever told me my insides could start a war.
Mom just said that
God couldn’t place my perfection in the body of a man
so He just tucked Adam’s courage
where my womb should’ve gone.
He told me to make every moment an immaculate conception.
No need to bleed monthly penance for a sin I did not commit.
But He never said it’d be easy
Cellular memory making me long for Eden in every step,
my earliest memories were of running.
Sneakers before crushes
and sprints before kisses
He said I’d never find a home in this world.
Yet I set my sights on finding heaven on Earth
&
i found myself
in crumbling gravel
in blistering toes
in endorphin rushes to the brain.
I found myself in respiration
in the sweat that dripped from my eyelids,
arms outstretched to the heavens,
as I stopped after my run.
You may say that I’m a thief.
I say I’ve never felt closer to God.
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About phoenixpoet: I’m a loveable eloquent klutz whose words might just clear your mind’s dementia long enough for you to recognize truth again when you see it in the mirror & remember what love looks like, even scribbled in imaginary markers on the heart of your best friend. They might inspire you to run away with a stranger you kissed in the street. Or, you might even be inspired to pick up a pen & write. Either way, it should be pretty amazing. Phoenix, a.k.a. Jennifer-Leigh Oprihory, a performance poet based out of Jersey City, NJ, is the founding member of Spitting Images, the first-ever New Jersey City University poetry slam team. She was also a semifinalist at the 2009 Brave New Voices International Poetry Slam along as part of 2009 N.J. Youth S.L.A.M., where she was also chosen to be a member of the 2009 Brave New Voices Green Team to write on the topics of the global environmental issues and climate change. For more information, visit http://phoenixpoet.info. |
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