Hey, y’all. Day 14’s National Poetry Month writing prompt is to write a poem that takes the form of the opening scene of your life. Here’s my poem:

Day 14 - OPENING SCENE 

By Farah Lawal Harris 

Black screen turns white.

Opening credit sequence begins.

Sound of a radio tuner switching stations—

first NPR, then Cyndi Lauper, then En Vogue.

“Hold on to Your Love” plays loudly.

Credits end.

Onscreen, a skinny black girl with plaits

in a 1970s-style apartment.

She dances and sings along.

As she dances, her family moves

in and out of the living room 

at lightning speed.

The song fades out.

Movement from the girl’s family ceases.

She stops dancing and waits.

She attempts to exit the room 

at the same pace as everyone else.

She trips, falls, and scrapes her knee.

She sheds a few tears and gets up.

Fela Kuti’s song, “Lady” fades in.

The girl smiles into the camera

dances out of the room.

End scene.

*

Photo by Maya Jackson