Sangre / ẹ̀jẹ̀/ Dahm

A poem for melanated blood lines

Imagine birth into a thick, burgundy ooze of pain and punishment

nos levantamos de sus ríos rojos

(We rose from their red rivers)

hadhih laysat baqae dama

(These are not blood stains)

These are beauty marks, nacido de la bella lucha

(born from the beautiful struggle.

ti awọn miliọnu, who stand as the foundation to the mountain peaks

of me y tu

(and you)

I write this for the ones who grew in times y lugares, donde amor de tu sangre ati awọn baba rẹ

(and places, where love of your blood and your ancestors)

meant loss of opportunity and maybe even loss of life

We don’t despise those who bleached their surface

Comprendemos nuestras amores

نحن نفهم حبنا nahn nafham habna