​how to make yourself small or how to be black and survive by Porsha Olayiwola

​crouch down
low
do not extend your limbs to their full stature

bend your knees
allow your bones to fold or 
crack

shrivel 

                         let your skin hug to you

                                                               like a casket, keep it close

your tongue is thunderous
to dilute the roar, divert your eyes
observe only the pavement

how it is a       massive                     shadow                 spread                 for us

a grave 




see only the ants

melanoid and minuscule

scampering by 

                        





                                                                     unscathed

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​Porsha Olayiwola is the 2014 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion, the 2015 National Poetry Slam Champion, and the co­-founder of House Slam. She identifies as a Black, poet, a hip­hop feminist, an educator, and an organizer.