It's #tbt! Enjoy this great one from SWWIM Every Day's archives!
Is it like peeling ginger root skin with a spoon, the sadness for losing something you did not want? Is it what coats the fingers when you squeeze a lemon? What language exists for replacing existing emptiness with a new emptiness that mourns in spite of you? I think the root should be Latin; Latin loves quiet turmoil and linden leaf tea. Latin feels appropriately weighty. Can it have two suffixes, for the sake of accuracy? Truth is I’ve never wanted a baby and, despite this sadness, I still don’t want one; all this emotion feels wasteful. I cook large dinners and insist on smoked sea salt, as if I wasn’t shedding a tear or two over the saucepan. What is the clinical term for when you don't have a potato peeler so you use a paring knife, and no matter how good you are, you lose a little potato? and if you’re not very good, you lose the entire potato.
Jeni De La O is an AfroCuban poet and storyteller in Detroit. She is a Kresge Fellow, founding member of The Estuary Collective, and authors the Brown Study series of essays.
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