Two Poems
By: Nicole Jennings

RAW

 

She was beautiful
Head shaved
Face bare
Striking
A beauty that would impact one’s life
Is what I had the privilege of witnessing that day
It was not the single digits that defined her waste
Nor the meat of her breast that filled her bra that made me stare
It was not the swaying of her hips that captivated me
It was her shaved head, the lack of hair
As women, we are defined by the locks that fall down our
Backs
By the over flowing meat that spills out our shirts
We are made to think that beauty is a lower number on the
Scale, oh how we torture ourselves
Beating our face with product until we no longer recognize
Ourselves, a reflection we are not familiar with
We aren’t beautiful until we are strangers to ourselves
But not her, her confidence radiated off her deep caramel skin
Bare face
Beautiful

 

Rituals

 

I often wonder why I am so obsessed with the ritual of getting tattooed
The anticipation of the appointment,
The buzzing of the machine,
The needle under the skin for countless hours,
The pain,
The wanting more
Perhaps it’s the reason why I stay with you.
Not knowing if today will be a good day for us
Hanging on every syllable that retreats from your lips
And how they hit me like daggers,
Penetrating the deepest parts of me.
You have mastered the pain you cause,
So precise in drawing out every tear,
Cautious to how exactly you have my heart ache
When you find an artist, who is good at what they do,
You stick with them
You can count on a well-executed piece
My love, no matter the beautiful damage you cause me
You will be the only one I trust with what you do so well
You make heartache a fucking masterpiece