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
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
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.