Mariah

“Every morning I walk like this around
the pond, thinking: if the doors of my heart ever close, I am as good as dead.”
― Mary Oliver

“for the fifth time this month
you say you’re going to leave him
he calls you a cunt over the phone
then walks the three miles to your house
and kisses your mouth until the word is just
a place on your body.
i don’t know what brings broken people together
maybe damage seeks out damage
the way stains on a mattress halo into one another
the way stains on a mattress bleed into each other.”
― Warsan Shire

“To my daughter I will say, when the men come, set yourself on fire.”
― Warsan Shire, Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth

“I have my mother’s mouth and my father’s eyes; on my face they are
still together.”
― Warsan Shire