This piece will be in the work VENGEANCE IS THE BODY (June 2023).
Where do you want it?”
He said watching
The portion of my sepia skin
Unveiled in the mirror
Freed from the cotton prison
Of shirt
“Here.”
I whisper
Heat inside of fingers
That trace above the
Collarbone that Lauryn Hill
said kisses go above.
Smile matching his own
As sepia skin tingles under
Gloved hands the color
Of kings eyeing
The final resting place
Of him who loved me
Saw me
And could find me
Wherever I was.
It is fitting
Blood and ink mingle
To make this love immortal.
There should be no negative space
The lettering should be done
So it is seen by whom
It needs to be seen by
Memorialized what we are
And shall always be
Young, gifted and Black.
The buzz and shock of
Skin gripped tight under
His hands
As skin breaks to
Receive desire—
Overriding pain
That causes my eyes
To close
Pulsing under his hand
Body easily drinking in
Pain and pleasure
Making all things
New and his
His words etched
Deeper as the
Ink and blood
I just want to hear you say it baby.
Fuck yeah you mine.
So say it.
In the middle of the ocean
Of sepia skin
cherries pop in between
Letters that I will
Take with me everywhere
Pieces of him and me,
Me and him
Taking memory and body
To back where memory began.
Sound.
Look.
Feel.
Tears.
Then the pain stops.
“How you feel?”
He wipes wetness away
Admiring the work
Of his hands
And his hands on me
Giving me back
What only memory
Can preserve.
Time and love converge
With ink into
Sealed to the
this clay vessel
Who houses fire
within her.
Let the fire remain.
And let a piece
Of that fire
be his name.
-JBHarris, 3.2023
I Breathe Fire 