Kimalee

“as an artist, i do not always enjoy the questions, ‘what were you thinking when you wrote this. what was the inspiration behind this.’ these questions imply that there is always thought involved in creation. for me it is the exact opposite. creativity is the act of experiencing the unconscious in the conscious. sometimes, i want to say, without sarcasm, ‘i do not know what my soul was thinking when i wrote that poem, i was too busy listening.”
― Nayyirah Waheed

“you ask to touch my hair. or worse touch it without asking. this is not innocence. this is not ignorance. this is not curiosity. this is the very racist and subhuman belief that you have a right to me. – i will break your hand | do not ever touch me |every time you touch me. my ancestors place a curse on you”
― Nayyirah Waheed, salt.

“the cure for apathy is memory.”
― Nayyirah Waheed, nejma

“Just because someone desires you, it does not mean that they value you.


Read it over.

Again.

Let those words resonate in your mind.”
― Nayyirah Waheed