THE MIRACLE TEA (Poem)

Hey, y’all!

The writing prompt for Day 8 of National Poetry Writing Month was an exercise called “Twenty Little Poetry Projects”:

Here’s my poem:

THE MIRACLE TEA

By Farah Lawal Harris, © 2023

Cancer is life strangled, then threatened.

I was advised to skip chemotherapy—

instead, to mix a teaspoon of baking soda

with a teaspoon of molasses in hot water

and drink it twice daily.

The first time,

my stomach gurgled like

still lake disturbed by a belly flop.

But I drank the salty, syrupy mixture,

holding my onto my nose and hope.

I touched my tumor to see if it shrunk—nope. Looked at swollen lymph nodes

in my armpit sleeping comfortably.

I smelled deceit—

WhatsApp lied to me.

Cancer tastes as salty as lies.

Glides through Atlanta

like the black line under Left Eye’s.

I was advised to do chemotherapy.

I be tryin’ hard, man.

Like Travis Kelce at the Superbowl

sayin’ “ain’t no nann.”

A Cincinatti tongue with Miami-Dade County slang

makes you the man.

Shakara oloje ni.

The ugly tumor of popularity.

Smiling Teeth reveal uncried tears.

I climb to a high cliff

and stand balanced with my toes off the ledge.

In her dreams, Baby lives on the edge.

I will be brave enough to do this

by the time I reach 40.

Black woman in copper canyon skin.

To heal oneself,

one only needs to climb a mountain.

Mañana, no mentiré.

A tea kettle shouts, “Hooray!”

A mug,

a teaspoon of baking soda,

a teaspoon of molasses.

Pour hot water over it.