Farah Lawal Harris 10/25/24 Farah Lawal Harris 10/25/24

IF ONLY WE KNEW WE WERE STARS (Poem)

It took the possibility of death to start loving me. Plus a dash of radical honesty, a splash of holy water in the form of tears

Farah Lawal Harris 10/15/24 Farah Lawal Harris 10/15/24

MY 40th BIRTHDAY (Poem)

The transformation from

my skin being “oily”

to it now being “glowy”

Farah Lawal Harris 10/15/24 Farah Lawal Harris 10/15/24

October 26, 2019

For my dear, childhood friend, Farrah's wedding.

I feared going down to Sealy, Texas,

too close to where Sandra Bland

transitioned from woman to martyr.

Farah Lawal Harris 10/8/24 Farah Lawal Harris 10/8/24

MY DADDY TURNED 80 (Poem)

I thank you for living,

for continuing to fight,

for modeling what true love looks like.

Farah Lawal Harris 10/4/24 Farah Lawal Harris 10/4/24

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE (Poem)

When I called the pig detective

for an update about my case,

he said

“Oh, no one called to tell you?

There was insufficient evidence…

Farah Lawal Harris 10/2/24 Farah Lawal Harris 10/2/24

WILL WE FINALLY KNOW? (Poem)

Will Diddy “take that” karma for running wild?

Will women finally be believed?

Will little Black girls choose books over bussdown weaves?

Farah Lawal Harris 10/1/24 Farah Lawal Harris 10/1/24

GRASP WISELY (Poem)

Take pleasure in the fact that

you survived,

that what meant to kill you failed

miserably.

Farah Lawal Harris 9/24/24 Farah Lawal Harris 9/24/24

MY GREATEST EXTRAVAGANCE

My greatest extravagance is time,

therefore I take mine.

Farah Lawal Harris 9/10/24 Farah Lawal Harris 9/10/24

IT IS TRUE (Poem)

Until cancer,

I constantly questioned myself

and doubted her.

Farah Lawal Harris 9/8/24 Farah Lawal Harris 9/8/24

I Am

When I inhale. I ain’t scared

to stretch my pooch past my belt,

push breath through every locked crevice near my pelvis

Farah Lawal Harris 9/2/24 Farah Lawal Harris 9/2/24

GIVE THANKS (Poem)

Be grateful for

soft, warm flesh on chests, for

God-given armor guarding hearts, for

nipples that get hard when cold.

Farah Lawal Harris 8/31/24 Farah Lawal Harris 8/31/24

BLACK GIRL FLY (Poem)

If you watch and listen,

I’ll teach you how to spin faster than

thunder claps through tumors,

leap and land lighter than liberation.

Farah Lawal Harris 8/31/24 Farah Lawal Harris 8/31/24

DIARY ENTRY from June 17, 2024

Anger is my birthright,

but so is peace.

I remind myself

of the highest version of me,

slowly morph into her

Farah Lawal Harris 8/30/24 Farah Lawal Harris 8/30/24

PRODUCTIVITY IS A FORM OF STRUGGLE

Productivity is a form of struggle

when it forces one to ignore their needs

to achieve the vision of a corporation.

Farah Lawal Harris 8/29/24 Farah Lawal Harris 8/29/24

FUNNY HOW (Poem)

funny how

our words to some

act as seeds

Farah Lawal Harris 8/7/24 Farah Lawal Harris 8/7/24

ODE TO OVEREXTENDERS (Poem)

I start to overextend;

a raspy voice over my right shoulder yells:

“Girl, save yourself!”

Farah Lawal Harris 5/1/24 Farah Lawal Harris 5/1/24

BACKSLIDER (Poem)

I don’t wanna worship with my oppressors—

prey praying hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder

with one eye open.

Farah Lawal Harris 4/30/24 Farah Lawal Harris 4/30/24

WATERMELON SEEDS (Poem)

Have you heard of

the girl who swallowed fifty black watermelon seeds?

In 9 months, she birthed sugar babies.

Farah Lawal Harris 4/29/24 Farah Lawal Harris 4/29/24

INTELLIGENT STUPIDITY (Poem)

inside kid, clandestine friendships,

advanced academic attention magnet,

stunning and didn’t know it,

Farah Lawal Harris 4/28/24 Farah Lawal Harris 4/28/24

PLANT MOM (Poem)

I know I am depressed when I stop watering my plants.

It’s like I need a visual representation of wilting.