we like it here!
by Chima “Naira” Ikoro
what is there left?
if not forests, if not coral reefs, or sumatran orangutans
if not glaciers,
if not walls and floors free from stickers telling us where to stand cause y’all can’t listen
and people dying by the hundreds of thousands because y’all can’t listen
what is there left?
not the ability to sleep outside since y’all won’t give me a house.
not seasons that are distinct.
not 35 cent chips.
not gas for under three dollars.
not student loan forgiveness.
not safety for kids in schools or people in churches, or at the store
or anywhere really…at all…ever
what is left?
definitely not a revolution,
cause y’all not tired enough yet. for some reason
y’all must love it here.
Chima Ikoro is the Weekly’s Community Builder.
Prompt
“What do you want to invoke that has become extinct around you?”
This prompt was provided by E’mon Lauren. This could be a poem, journal entry, or a stream-of-consciousness piece. Submissions could be new or formerly written pieces.
Submissions can be sent to bit.ly/ssw-exchange or via email to chima.ikoro@southsideweekly.com.
Featured below is a reader response to a previous prompt. The last poem and prompt can be found here.
what is queer
by rin
What is queer?
When corrupt brutality
Becomes your reality
And you’re left on the side of the road
To have lived through it all
That is queer
Your Black isn’t white
If it costs you your life
And you’re thrown through a system
That’ll eat you alive
Your mother won’t tell you
How hard it might get
To be 21
At the edge of regret
And the heartbreak you’ll face,
As everyone knows,
Will come deep inside you
And tremble your bones
You won’t learn that “No”
Doesn’t mean Daddy stop
Till your body is bruised
Beaten, battered, and dropped
You’ll often think why
You can’t be alone
This body you’ll grow in
You’ve never called home
It’s 2.99
For a bottle of wine
When you have nothing else
To keep you alive
The going gets rough
It never feels over
Till your faced with a lover
And can’t fuck them sober
Your father won’t tell you
How hard it might get
To be 24
Past the edge of regret
The heartbreak you’ve faced,
As everyone knows,
Will start to feel numb
And shrivel your bones
So what is queer?
A chokehold fear?
A deadend silence
Turned to violence
A blow to the head
That might leave you dead
Unwanted attention
That begs them to question
“Who are you? And why are you here?”
You have lived through it all
That. Is. Queer.