by Uchechi | Apr 27, 2017 | Blog
#NaPoWriMo Day 29
the bodies we have are the ones we will always have. i’m learning to fully accept mine. i hope this poem inspires you to do the same.
she asked me if i would love her despite it all
every stretch mark every kinked out curled not so white American hair
every new line every dimpled skin
every but every ounce of skin growing in a different direction
every moment of I don’t want to love you
every nit picking nail biting eye squinting moment in the mirror
she asked me if i would love her
my body
despite it all
she asked us
each woman girl if we would love her
despite every surgery ever C section scar
every post pregnancy weight gain
every moment we didn’t love our bodies post babies
every ounce of bitterness for the brothers who teased our flat chested summers and made them hell
she knows it’s the hard work the pulling out of hearts
the looking at folded skin 2, 3, 4 times
the running and running and weight training only to go home and feel less home and see the ame numbers on the scale
what if she
our beloved body
wanted us to lean into the discomfort the trying the overtrying the overacheiving and just take a deep breath
what if accepting her would simply mean saying
today i go about my day knowing that this
all of this here
every muscle fibre fat flesh
everything is mine
and it’s all i’ve got
so let’s be kind to her
let’s treat her like our own
© 2017 Uchechi Kalu
by Uchechi | Apr 23, 2017 | Blog
#NaPoWriMo Day 28
i asked my body
together we bowed our heads
this thing that happened is big
this thing that happend closes lungs
this thing that happened stops breath
this thing
this grief
swallows us all
i asked my body
how do we get through this
she whispered to me
gently
i asked my body
how do we get through this
she whispered again
in and with community
go find the ones that love you
remember
there are many
Copyright 2017 Uchechi Kalu
by Uchechi | Apr 19, 2017 | Blog
#NaPoWriMo Day 19
I’ve made it to the halfway mark. This is a big deal for me. I am a poet and always will be, but in year’s past I havent been able to fully commit to this challenge. This process is stirring up something inside me and it’s a good thing. The point of this exercise is to just create and not thing too much about it. Some of the poems might seem wonderful and others might be something i put in a folder and don’t use. But to get to the useful work, I must create the rough first drafts. I must create the imperfect. ANd And right now, creating the imperfect and trusting that process is nourishing me. I hope it’s doing the same for you. Enjoy!
But, now, here I am doing it.
Today I was inspired by architecture and the lives that construct our own lives.
built
start with bone
if there is no bone
move on to tissue
piece it bone move on to construct it
with something else
pipe cleaners
we’ve got those
next she will need tissue
the blood and the tissues work together
if there is none find leftover dinner scraps
mix it with the soil
and compost her into existence
she will need blood
just like we discussed
and if there is none
maybe we can conjure up something liquid
something that can glide to move each organ to
pump towards the heart
maybe give her rain
let the water fall down on this woman we are building
let there be something distinguishible in who she is
we’ve got pipe cleaners
and rain and compost and making tissue out of
discoverables
next we must just step back
and let her breathe
let her open her eyes look around and take it all in
this life was meant for her
that is how we build her
© 2017 Uchechi Kalu
by Uchechi | Apr 18, 2017 | Blog
#NaPoWriMo Day 17
the people who want to be with you
will simply be with you
your hands will be tethered to theirs they will
know your breath
that distant hum at night
they will laugh at the way your curl your lips
just before waking
they will stand there
with you as your eyes give off the wet stench
of defeat
they will remain
when nothing else
does
Copyright 2016 Uchechi Kalu
