ByKemi Alabi

Kemi Alabi is a Wisconsin-bred, Boston-schooled poet and performer. She currently writes, works and stays Black in Oakland, CA.

  1. Some folks can call flowers by name. Dragonsbreathladysucklehibiscus. Dandiorchard Tigerpoppyleaf. Dirt. Seed. Stem. That's as far as I get. Georgia Burt didn't have a garden—she had 8 kids, the corner store, and a reverend husband slumped into a puddle of hooch. She had the Lord and his three names and always Newports— none of that CamelMarlboroughVirginiaSlims shit. Oops, she'd say. Your mama don't want me to curse 'round you kids, I'm sorry. There's promise born…

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