Home > Work > The Black Unicorn: Poems
1 " and when we speak we are afraidour words will not be heardnor welcomedbut when we are silentwe are still afraidSo it is better to speakrememberingwe were never meant to survive "
― Audre Lorde , The Black Unicorn: Poems
2 " ...may I never lose that terror that keeps me brave "
3 " I have been woman for a long time beware my smile I am treacherous with old magic "
4 " places do not change so much as what we seek in them "
5 " I have died too many deaths that were not mine. "
6 " […] your smile has been to war "
7 " young seeds that have not seen sun forget and drown easily. "
8 " A Litany for Survival For those of us who live at the shorelinestanding upon the constant edges of decisioncrucial and alonefor those of us who cannot indulgethe passing dreams of choicewho love in doorways coming and goingin the hours between dawnslooking inward and outwardat once before and afterseeking a now that can breedfutureslike bread in our children's mouthsso their dreams will not reflectthe death of ours:For those of uswho were imprinted with fearlike a faint line in the center of our foreheadslearning to be afraid with our mother's milkfor by this weaponthis illusion of some safety to be foundthe heavy-footed hoped to silence usFor all of usthis instant and this triumphWe were never meant to survive.And when the sun rises we are afraidit might not remainwhen the sun sets we are afraidit might not rise in the morningwhen our stomachs are full we are afraidof indigestionwhen our stomachs are empty we are afraidwe may never eat againwhen we are loved we are afraidlove will vanishwhen we are alone we are afraidlove will never returnand when we speak we are afraidour words will not be heardnor welcomedbut when we are silentwe are still afraidSo it is better to speakrememberingwe were never meant to survive. "
9 " It has rained for five daysrunningthe world isa round puddleof sunless waterwhere small islandsare only beginningto copea young boyin my gardenis bailing out waterfrom his flower patchwhen I ask him whyhe tells meyoung seeds that have not seen sunforgetand drown easily. "
10 " see me nowyour severed daughterlaughing our name into echoall the world shall remember "
11 " I am tired of writing memorials to black menwhom I was on the brink of knowingweary like fig treesweighted like a crepe myrtlewith all the black substance poured into earthbefore earth is ready to bear.I am tired of holy deathsof the ulcerous illuminations the cerebral accidentsthe psychology of the oppressedwhere mental health is the abilityto repressknowledge of the world’s cruelty. "
12 " my body writes into your fleshthe poemyou make of me."Recreation "
13 " I amthe sun and moon and forever hungrythe sharpened edgewhere day and night shall meetand not beone.from “From the House of Yemanjá, "
14 " As the light wanes I see what I thought I was anxious to surrender I am only willing to lend "
15 " The black unicorn was mistaken for a shadow or symbol and taken through a cold country where mist painted mockeries of my fury. "
16 " I did not recognize the shape of my own name. "
17 " Our labor has become more important than our silence. "
18 " I come like a woman who I am spreading out through nights laughter and promise and dark heat warming whatever I touch that is living consuming only what is already dead. "