For the past two months, writer and curator, Mahogany L. Browne, has blessed us with two impactful poems for us Queens to enjoy. This month, Browne shares a new exclusive poem with 21Ninety, entitled: The Ache. Please enjoy below:

Photo: Mahogany L. Browne

The Ache

A fatherless childless will do almost

anything in attempts to receive approval

from the world.

A nod

or really

any sign of recognition

would cause me to put my own life in danger.

Once

I let my sister lift me

on top of both of her extended feet

in the middle of the dark

of our shared pink and white bedroom.

She mimicked a rickety resemblance of Superman

her legs locked at the knee

and me, dangling in the air

both her hands holding tight my wrists.

I lie back on the soles of her feet

When she kicked me straight up into the night’s jawline

I landed hard

a plank splintered against the edge

of our new and exposed steel bed frame.

My forearm split itself into a welcome flood

blood spilling like a song

and I swore I could hear my father sing.

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