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.
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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.
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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.
