Published in Human Parts·PinnedMember-onlyBlack, on Both SidesLiving between my Nigerian and African-American identities — I shoved my research notebook in my desk drawer and slammed it closed. I’d just completed my dissertation study. I should have been eager to sift through the pages, but that notebook was the last thing I wanted to see. The year before, I’d traveled to Detroit to purchase it. …Strawberry202114 min readStrawberry202114 min read
Published in Human Parts·PinnedMember-onlyBlack Skini hate those stories the ones where women recall how they once hated the shade of their deep dark skin the same stories that appear in Oprah’s documentaries and characterize the dark-skinned women across her network whenever i hear them i never understand how ugly words can form on the lips of such beautiful women…Strawberry20212 min readStrawberry20212 min read
Apr 30, 2021Masks of Denialthe sun had set long before i boarded the train for the first half of my long commute from Newark, NJ to Queens, NY exhausted fatigued when i finally entered my house, i met my father, sitting at the kitchen island dipping his perfectly rounded pounded yam into a big bowl of ogbono soup…Strawberry20212 min readStrawberry20212 min read
Apr 27, 2021Running From Povertypoverty scares me it always has i remember the first time i met poverty on the corner of puritan avenue and roselawn street right outside of my first elementary school i could clearly see poverty from the second floor in Ms. …Strawberry20212 min readStrawberry20212 min read
Apr 24, 2021Starting a New Life on a Blank CanvasYou’ve got a blank canvas, that’s what they keep telling me they smile when they say it some of them even laugh i mirror their smiles back at them but they don’t know that my mine is forced my laughter is too and my stomach twists into knots at the mere thought of illustrating my own life which colors shall i choose? will they complement each other? what if my brush strokes aren’t precise enough?Strawberry20211 min readStrawberry20211 min read
Apr 20, 2021I Found My Voicei found my voice buried and hidden in between the crevices of people’s desires. unrecognizable at first, i walked right past her. she called me, compelled me, demanded me to finally stand still and listen. i dusted her off. then she took me on a long walk down a pothole-ridden street. i…Strawberry20211 min readStrawberry20211 min read
Apr 1, 2021Member-onlyYou Are Beautiful, Efeyesterday my younger cousin called me we hadn’t spoken in 7 months midway through our call, she told me she wants to see herself as beautiful i understood her but i kept silent because some things cannot be explained some things must be lived and as we live through them we fully grasp deep…Strawberry20211 min readStrawberry20211 min read
Apr 1, 2021Member-onlyWearing All Blackmy mother hates when i wear all black it should be reserved for those who mourn, she says i fell in love with black clothing on the east coast New York City subway passengers semi-patiently waiting for trains clothed in all black exuding quiet unbothered laser-sharp focus Confidence an aura i’ve always…Strawberry20211 min readStrawberry20211 min read
Published in Human Parts·Mar 30, 2021Member-onlyI Do Not Want Our Mothers’ StrengthA poem about self-sacrificeStrawberry20211 min readStrawberry20211 min read
Mar 23, 2021Member-onlyWhich Day You Go Marry?I’d barely taken off my coat before my grandmother walked into the living room and asked her infamous question: “Iyore, which day you go marry?” She placed her hands on her hips and slowly moved her waist from left to right, singing , “Eh eh…I wan shake my ikebe.” Iye…Strawberry20217 min readStrawberry20217 min read
