Dafna

“From all around the Third World,
You hear the same story;
Rulers
Asleep to all things at
All times -
Conscious only of
Riches, which they gather in a
Coma -
Intravenously

So that
You wouldn't know they were
Feeding if it was not for the
Occasional
Tell-tale trickle somewhere
Around the mouth.
And when they are jolted awake,
They stare about them with
Unseeing eyes, just
Sleepwalkers in a nightmare.”
― Ama Ata Aidoo, Our Sister Killjoy

“There are no easy ways to speak these words. No way to honor love and truth without something getting lost in translation. It is made even more complex when one party is dead, silent to this world. And how do you tell a story that is commonplace and felt by all without giving in to sentimentality? But the thing is that, in the end, we each must decide how comfortable we are with how much we hurt other people.”
― Chris Abani, The Face: Cartography of the Void

“(once upon an afternoon
i became still-life
i carried a balloon
and a long black knife.)”
― Sonia Sanchez, Shake Loose My Skin: New and Selected Poems

“How to dance
in blood and
remain sane?”
― Sonia Sanchez, Morning Haiku