In a garden of palm and fruit
the Pansies and Snapdragons
trimmed the bedding
my white child hands with care placed
my dolls on the lawn so that together we
could watch the sun and clouds gliding by, then
I saw you
your young black body already sullen over
weed and dirt
the proud mouth concaved
you’re strong back a door
closed from me
always moving away while fulfilling your duties
and as I sat under the Mulberry tree
with my purple-stained feet
try moving closer
mesmerized by your golden hands
I imagined they belong to a Lion tamer
the wielder of a silver sword fighting
Python with Baobab bodies
or a Prince from a faraway land
that I will one day visit and announce
my past adventures with their now King
every day I waited for your arrival
which was quiet
every day I will move a bit closer
for approaching the son of a King was
adventurous and full of riddles
a treacherous path
with rivers full of Crocodiles with sticky long tongues
curled up like a Chameleon tail
ready to grab and twine around my tiny feet
dragging me into the darkest deepest rivers,
with skies filled with hungry Vultures
camouflaged as clouds
ready to snatch me up into the air
to disappear forever into the bellies of their chicks
unknown my quest
you raked the dry and you trimmed the dead
with a dark bowed head
the day finally arrived when I slain all the monsters to reach you
and I was going to grab those golden hands and
flew up to the treetops and lived together
on berries filled with honey
you turned around
black eyes filled with beams of
emotions for which I did not have yet a name
an epileptic drum of words
run and spit from your raw tongue
your hands white knuckled a rock
and as this piece of accusing fossil
comet the air towards my head
birds got still
flowers got shorter
animals lost their voices
toys became plastic
and when my mother tucked me into bed
that night concerned for my tears
she wanted to know why?
I kept silent
for a storm was always hiding behind the
beautiful hills of the Water Mountains
For I know now that something wasn’t right.
