Black

 

/blak/ 

adjective 

 

1. of the very darkest color owing to the absence of or complete absorption of light. the opposite

of white. like ink. like shadows. monsters. tar. dirt. berries. licorice. and ants. like earth buried

underneath fingernails. like rat-tail combs. the jar of my sister’s hold and shine jam. like bonnet.

like durag. like little torn panties. a broken belt. taylor port breath and the tattoo of some

scripture he had. black like life beat niggas so bad they turned into blues. like the homies cope

the only way they know how. burning their lips black. kissin all them woods. black like city air.

a concoction of engine exhaust. blood. piss. i don’t give a fuck’s. and sewer fumes. like mother’s

outliving their babies. strange and rotten fruit. like casket attire. like grief. and liquor bottles

suckled like babas filled with lukewarm breastmilk eight days out the week. like pecola’s eyes.

the blackest. most beautiful thing i’ve ever seen. like free all my niggas. like where all my sistas?

they the caged birds that still dare to sing. black like our malnourished dreams. black like what is

legacy? black like what is longevity? black like what actually belongs to me — the very darkest

color, owing to the absence of or complete absorption of life. the opposite of white.