Gethsemane Painted Black

BY ASHUNDA NORRIS

gardened
governed
& alive beyond myself

, I forego agony
for meditative ceremony guided by magic

, messiah blood skin
pouring from my eyes

I weep as seven locs are cut off
my divine head

If I judged my life by the way the senate votes
, id be dead & forgotten

a slope of matter anointed
Alice Coltrane spirit piled high

I like my tea hot & stirred
with cannabis

am I the only one with an ache in my side
from all this self sacrificing

I regret it every morning
being in bars alone

reach for a prophet under siege
apart from the pillars

I use to sweep up all these mere mortals
hiding truth from me

Praise House

BY ASHUNDA NORRIS

Click here to view “Praise House”

Ashunda is a Black feminist multidisciplinary artist with creative work that encompasses film, poetry, archiving and her own theoretical frameworks. A Cave Canem fellow, Ashunda’s art has been supported by the California Arts Council, the Hurston/Wright Foundation, Community of Writers, Brooklyn Poets and the New York State Writers Institute. Her writing has been featured or is forthcoming in Obsidian, Taint Taint Taint, Rootwork Journal, Fence, EcoTheo Review and other noteworthy publications. Born and raised in the heart of rural, red clay Georgia, Ashunda is now a bonafide citified bitch living and creating in Los Angeles. Learn more at ashunda.com.

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