Dedications

I’d like to dedicate the shoes on my feet
To every boy who felt so much missing with me
That they needed to seek more affection
between someone else’s sheets.
I hope for the strength to tie these laces
and learn to walk away from behavior I don’t deserve.
Pound the pavement so hard that the earth shakes from my steps
Jolting them out of their lovers' arms and reminding them of my face.

I’d like to dedicate my period underwear
To every boy who cared more about
The euphoric explosion from between their legs
Than the specks of blood I’ve left on their linen
From being sliced open and ignored.
I am thankful that there is fabric
So focused on caressing me gently
Catching each ruby droplet with soft, cupped hands.

I’d like to dedicate my burgundy lipstick
To every boy who has ever disappeared
Mid-sentence, mid-relationship, mid-connection.
A pigment so rich clings to my lips
Values every word spoken
Begs for each syllable
Leaning in so close, so captivated
That I need only to whisper.

I’d like to dedicate my rainbow ray bans
To the boy who held me on the highest pedestal
Putting my head in the clouds
To swat at planes instead of flies.
First a delicious change of pace
A bite of the most refreshing fruit
Turned bitter when
The idea of me had more of his time than I did.
So distracted, he couldn’t see
That he was the moon, the dreamcatcher, and the dream.
But I was never really the sun.
If only we had been strong enough
To see ourselves the way we saw each other.

I’d like to dedicate my curly hair
To all the boys who told me I’d be more desirable without it.
The boys who didn’t understand
that suffocating the sensual swerves and curves
Of each strand
Torturing my locks with heat
Was burning my identity at the stake.
That by squeezing between scorching metal plates
I am erasing the only part of me that says ‘ethnic’
That I am not fighting to be pretty
I am fighting to be seen.