Flower Explorations 8 by Valentina Luna
Thomas Kneeland | Why Some People Be Wantin' to Erase Us All the Time
--after Lucille Clifton’s “why some people be mad at me sometimes”
they list all the things about us
they would like to forget
but we record the things about us
they do not regret:
We were the first of the fearful, locs draping our shoulders
like a looming curse. Olive skin ripped us from our sockets
saw us as gold nuggets on the coast, to be traded
for a ransom that had already been paid.
Like a looming curse, olive skin ripped our skin
into purple flesh, said God was angry with us
for the ransom His Son had already paid.
We believed every word you said,
& our flesh turned darker. Thought God was angry.
We were sour figs, bruised & beaten, hanging
from brittle branches, clinging to every word you said:
sola scriptura from the master’s table.
& we were your beasts, bruised & beaten & burdened,
the first of the feared, locs draping our shoulders
golden sculptures on the coast, taken for ransom:
fruit for famine.
they list all the things about us
they would like to forget
but we record the things about us
they do not regret:
We were the first of the fearful, locs draping our shoulders
like a looming curse. Olive skin ripped us from our sockets
saw us as gold nuggets on the coast, to be traded
for a ransom that had already been paid.
Like a looming curse, olive skin ripped our skin
into purple flesh, said God was angry with us
for the ransom His Son had already paid.
We believed every word you said,
& our flesh turned darker. Thought God was angry.
We were sour figs, bruised & beaten, hanging
from brittle branches, clinging to every word you said:
sola scriptura from the master’s table.
& we were your beasts, bruised & beaten & burdened,
the first of the feared, locs draping our shoulders
golden sculptures on the coast, taken for ransom:
fruit for famine.
Thomas Kneeland is a poet, educator, community leader, and visual artist. He is author of the chapbook, We Be Walkin’ Blackly in the Deep (Marian University), and one of ten 2022 Frontier Poetry Global Poetry Prize finalists for the continent of Africa. He is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Elevation Review. His poetry is published or forthcoming in Kitchen Table Quarterly, Up the Staircase Quarterly, South Florida Poetry Journal, INverse Poetry Archives, Rigorous Magazine, and elsewhere. Kneeland holds a B.A. in English Writing from DePauw University and will graduate from Butler University’s MFA Program in Creative Writing in December of 2023.
Born in 1995 and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, Valentina Luna moved to Mexico City to study at Universidad Iberoamericana where she obtained a BBA in Business Administration in 2017. In CDMX Valentina studied art intermittently, until moving to New York City in 2023 to continue her studies at The Art Students League of New York, Parsons School of Design, and New York School of the Arts.
Valentina's diverse background has allowed her to gain experience in various disciplines, and enrich her multi-cultural heritage and unique perspective, continuing her journey into the play of light and color, capturing the essence of the world that envelops us, while remaining firmly grounded in the realms of pleasure and aesthetics. Valentinas' work draws profound inspiration from the dynamic culture and lush landscapes of her homeland, Colombia.
Valentina's diverse background has allowed her to gain experience in various disciplines, and enrich her multi-cultural heritage and unique perspective, continuing her journey into the play of light and color, capturing the essence of the world that envelops us, while remaining firmly grounded in the realms of pleasure and aesthetics. Valentinas' work draws profound inspiration from the dynamic culture and lush landscapes of her homeland, Colombia.
