Two Poems
Ezije Efobi
THIRTEEN WAYS OF LOOKING AT A BLACK GIRL
I.
She is not.
II.
She is, not in the way you think,
Only in a way a few would understood
Only in a way that matters to her
III.
A threat of the most innocuous kinds,
Waiting,
Watching,
Her edges bristling with unshed violence,
Hoping to paint something white, red
IV.
Ada,
Eldest Daughter
Most promised and promising
Best associated with a broom handle
And a shopping cart
V.
Hand raised, then
“Let’s give someone else a chance to answer”
VI.
Black and woman are inseparable
And at the same time
She’ll always be one and not the other
VII.
Joy friendship patience gentleness
Amicability, easily-approached
VIII.
“Oh, she knows what to do.”
“Of course she figured it out so fast.”
“She knows the answer.”
“If not, then we are lost.”
(Something something something about Black women
and the capes
that are thrust upon us)
IX.
Chilly next door neighbor,
Keeper of the apartment,
Has specificities about cleaning
That she would like followed
X.
New girl
XI.
Too loud too brash too brave
A mirror of insecurity, impervious to its
Own reflections
XII.
“Brave” “strong” “independent” and all that
XIII.
Just a Black girl
Future Past/Present
I stand and time turns away from me
Steady sprint, pulling the evanescent present with it
Or shoving it behind, out of the way
(out of sight out of mind)
The past lags, stubbornly stays put just behind my shoulder
Nudging my back, keeping me tethered, locked
While still time races and races and races
And the past regurgitates what it can
And the present toys with it, considers it, ignores it
(or throws it at me)
And I continue to stand, gripped by the past
Passed by the present
Chasing the future
You know they say the present and the past
Are the closest of friends
Inseparable in the way that the future is not
The future is distant, aloof, frantic in the unknown
We look toward it
We have no choice
Ezije Efobi graduated in May, 2022. She is from Long Branch, just a mile from the coast, and loves reading and writing above anything else. She is an aspiring author who has written two manuscripts and is currently working on a third.
These poems were written in Paul Blaney’s Intro to Creative Writing course. Blaney selected the pieces for inclusion in WHR.