& what is a praise anyway but
an obnoxious speech / you’s in the presence
of a God. I bring fuchsia sky after an aching
rain / that makes your unhealed bones
creak. Tickle the moon and create moon-
light. Endless sea to sea.
There is no afterlife. No sonofabitch who
can kill me / notorious. Blow out
kneecaps summoning the wind. Strike
you down by your lies / watch your mouth
watch your blood / clots. Have you wishing
you spoke black. Warrior of afflictions.
Play for limbs. Make you wanna do a dance
against the water / incinerate whole villages
with my pinky. Barely break a sweat. Barely break
& you sulk. Bulging with disdain / you can’t defeat me.
You come from my breast. Licked my nipple clean &
still you only dream of miracles/ see heaven.
Never darkness and how it creates uncupped light.
You never pray Oya / but think Jesus can
stop earth’s cracking.
DeShara Suggs-Joe is the Creative Director of Workshops for Winter Tangerine, Co-Founder of the Daughter’s Tongue writing collective and former member of the Youth Speaks Collective. She is a 2016 Callaloo Fellow and 2017 Poetry Incubator Fellow. She has been published in Winter Tangerine, The Texas Review, The Oakland Review, and Art Cult Zine. She has also been featured on Button Poetry’s YouTube platform. She has performed at the likes of Spotify, Yahoo, and Pinterest but considers home inside a classroom teaching creative writing or listening to Solange on repeat.