named yourself Witch
The stink of death drips
heavy in the stale air
The tuneful screams of the cicadas mark high summer
South
Count who’s left after the hangings
I peel the slice of tangerine free
of its white ropes with my tongue
like a finished cord cutting ritual
I know it won’t be long before they start
looking for my death body, too.
But
it won’t be swinging from a tree.
I brought my own knife.
…..
This poem is from the book Blue Violet: Haint Spaces by Samar Jade (Finishing Line Press), and can be found at https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/blue-violet-haint-spaces-by-samar-jade/
Samar Jade (they/them) is a Black, fat, disabled and gender expansive creative writer and Ensoulment Doula. Samar’s writing centers the experiences of being born and raised in the Deep Gothic South. Their poetry has been published by Pile Press, Kentucky Monthly, and Quenceria Press and their fiction short story “Ghosts” will be published in a collection with Roots, Wounds, Words. Blue Violet: Haint Spaces is their debut full-length poetry collection. When Smar isn’t writing or ferrying others in their underworld journeys, they enjoy spending time with their partner and two children.
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