Super Sad Black Girl

By Diamond Sharp
When I’m tired
I bare my bones.
Swallow my own hair.
Recover from my thoughts.
Drown.
Tweak.
Have a fit of human.
Eat myself whole.
Bleed freely.
Suffocate
gleefully.
Drown.
Bury this
dust.
Cut my body.
Abandon my mind.
Cry in public.
Want my ugly.
Choke.
Drown.
Tell the truth.
Fall.
Bleed black.
Swim in my own blood.
Stay free.
Wander.
Feel entitled.
Stay Black and die.

Notes:

This piece is included in Respect the Mic: Celebrating 20 Years of Poetry from a Chicagoland High School, edited by Hanif Abdurraqib, Franny Choi, Peter Kahn, and Dan Sullivan. Published by Penguin Workshop. All poems are copyright of their respective authors.

Source: Poetry (December 2021)