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Goldilocks of Heartbreak
Ekphrasis for Mary J. Blige
Ekphrasis for Mary J. Blige
Written by Nnenna Loveth
Illustrated by A.Akido
Est. Reading Time: 1 min
Sounds the shade of navy blue tide my body
cracked against the shores of my grief.
Sleep don’t come easy here…
nowhere…everywhere.
Time is sloshing since you been away boi.
Asphyxiating surender suspends me.
I wake finding that life don’t come easy
that my whole world is up!-ended.
Floating and sinking at once
I have no idea of an ocean floor.
I’m so sorry sorry sorry. Sorry! I haven’t responded to that text
There's no reception in the deep.
Sorry! I canceled plans again– the anglerfish
and I have dinner plans swallowing
the salt tears fallin' from my eyes.
I settle into the sadness
ask Mary J– is the ocean too big on me?
She says no. It fits just right.
--
Published July 5, 2024
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Author’s Bio
Sarah “Nnenna Loveth” Umelo Uzoma Nwafor (they/she) is an Igbo lesbian poet, performer, and facilitator. Their work explores Black g*rlhood, Black queerness, Igbo Cosmology, Sensual play and rituals of healing. Nnenna published their debut chapbook, Already Knew You Were Coming, with Game Over Books in January of 2022 and has also been featured on Button Poetry, WBUR’s ARTery, VIBEs Magazine, and Ujima #Wire. When Nnenna is not writing, they are somewhere being romanced by the intensity of life.
︎ @pleasure.as.compass
︎ @nwafor_sarah
︎ pleasurearthealing.com
Sarah “Nnenna Loveth” Umelo Uzoma Nwafor (they/she) is an Igbo lesbian poet, performer, and facilitator. Their work explores Black g*rlhood, Black queerness, Igbo Cosmology, Sensual play and rituals of healing. Nnenna published their debut chapbook, Already Knew You Were Coming, with Game Over Books in January of 2022 and has also been featured on Button Poetry, WBUR’s ARTery, VIBEs Magazine, and Ujima #Wire. When Nnenna is not writing, they are somewhere being romanced by the intensity of life.
︎ @pleasure.as.compass
︎ @nwafor_sarah
︎ pleasurearthealing.com
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