MOH-RE-NI-KE

i am from long nights under a full moon, shining bright through a waxing night.          

i am from sinking into my mothers lap, as african culture was woven tightly onto my scalp so it’d never be forgotten.

i am from water, heat, and words,          

i am from the brushing of my feet on soil while feeling free like a comely bird.      

i am from cold drinks and warm hearts,    

i am from the sadness that broke me into little parts.

i am from the feet of ancestors that walked too long,

i am from the vocal chords of ancestors who sang sorrowful songs.

i am from the back’s of ancestors that were beaten by the beaming sun,

i am from the young ancestors who only had rocks to play with for fun.

i am from ‘close your legs’ and ‘do not speak’,

i am from wearing dresses and ribbons on my feet.

i am from ‘make me a sandwich’ and ‘you cannot play’, i am from the sadness of every girl who was treated this way.

i am from my name being watered down in the mouths of those with no culture,

i am from moh-re-ni-ke not mor-reni-ki.

i am from a language that speaks with such anger,

an anger my friends could never match

i am from showing people the sun in my bones and having them kicked, bruised, then left on the floor in sounds of moans.

i am from a heart that is always so confident in its feelings that it never bothers to ask my brain for help.

i am from constantly trying to cut myself down into sections, so I can fit in places I don’t belong.

I am from the sad song that plays when nights get lonely and trashy boys get homely,

but when that song stops playing and the long awaited sun creeps through the window,

I AM just...

me.

Morenike.