poem

Mar 31, 2021

Elikem’s Corner: Peace

I truly believe good things come in threes Like the trifecta or Holy Trinity  So here are three examples of how you’ve been my peace:    Peace The immediate, instantaneous feeling that rushes through my body whenever you utter your favorite phrase “you know I got you” it was terrifying in the beginning  Despite all…

Mar 24, 2021

Elikem’s Corner: Home

Home Smells sweet like vanilla Occasionally a whiff of cigarette smoke Sometimes a vape Sometimes it’s just weed Home is About 200 pounds Thick arms and thick thighs The deepest belly button I’ve ever poked And the most beautiful eyes And unkempt hair And a crooked smile Home is The only place I feel safe…

Mar 10, 2021

Elikem’s Corner: Screams

CW: self-harm When you don’t have a voice, you’ve got to scream somehow  And I’ve spent these 20 odd years trying to figure out how to scream  Trying to figure out how to breathe  Trying to figure out how to simply exist in this world  Trying to find my voice so I don’t have to scream …

Mar 3, 2021

Elikem’s Corner: Oh How I Miss My Water

You don’t miss your water until your well runs dry all I have left are the pictures The memories that constantly replay in my head An endless loop I can’t seem to escape No matter how hard I try I can’t seem to drink it, sleep it, or sing it away Eventually, I will have…

Feb 3, 2021

Elikem’s Corner: Many Pieces

I know I am not broken But I still feel shattered, ripped, and scattered  I am still exhausted from trying to piece everything together  Trying to make sense of senseless actions and exclamations  Trying to make sense of the thoughts floating in me Trying to make sense of the scars and bruises  Trying to make…

Jan 27, 2021

Elikem’s Corner: Maybe, Just Maybe

They say pain makes us who we are But I don’t want to be my pain I don’t want to carry these burdens and scars placed on me I don’t want to carry this feeling forever This feeling that maybe Black girls like me do not deserve to be loved That maybe we do not…

Nov 18, 2020

Elikem’s Corner: Girl a, Girl b

There are two people: Girl A The girl who loves to talk Never ending chatter Comes with jokes and happiness Thinks that maybe one day she can do whatever she wants to do You can do whatever you put your mind to Loves her melanin Embraces her kinky hair Loves to shop Treats herself Knows…

Oct 21, 2020

Elikem’s Corner: Sunset to sunrise 

Sunset to sunrise Can’t you see the lies within their eyes? They came to ruin our communities  Capital of the Black Middle Class, my a**   Is there still room for us? “Renovating” my grandmothers house We can’t afford to live here  Prices skyrocketing like we on a race to the moon  Shooting through our black…