DRESS CODE > POETRY
Nothing is alright and I’ve got back fat spilling out from the sides of my bra
And boobs spilling out from the front of my bra
To the delight of anyone who desires to peek into my window
As there are no blinds no curtains in the window anymore
Just the cover of trees that hide sunrises and bloom from Roxbury soil
I bloomed from Roxbury soil
And I drooped
And I dropped out the seeds of potential
Doctor lawyer artist teacher poet
Dreams that were once my mother’s voice speaking out for me
Or maybe my own voice shouting to me so distantly I could not hear
And my body brambles and rolls to the sound of my personal failure
My personal distance from the constancy of God
My belly glints in the sun saying to Him
Love me anyway
Kinno (she/they) is a Black woman and writer based in Boston, Massachusetts. She has a lifelong interest in literature and has studied it in English, Latin, and Ancient Greek. She loves all things horror and also nature a lot even though she is allergic (she is also allergic to her own perfume but still insists on smelling like flowers!). Their poetry has been published in a gathering together, the Papeachu Review, the BLF Press Black Joy anthology, the Solstice Literary Magazine, MIDLVLMAG, and other journals. Their fiction appears in Mystic Owl Magazine. Follow them on Instagram at @poetkinno.