i. mother— conjure me to return

hail mary
your daughter drank a spell today

full of grace
is there an antidote to love?

the lord is with thee
beelzebub conspired with my heart

blessed are you amongst women
my womanhood kneels before his voice

& the fruit of your womb
now— i serve another god.

holy mary
let the heavens exorcise my heart

pray for this sinner
so she could scurry away from hell

until the hour of her death
mother— conjure me to return

it is done.

 

ii. the devil sows sunflowers too

my lover turned off my humanity
by knitting my lips into a prayer,
a home, a chest, for soft kisses & sunflowers too.
he grows roses on my thighs— the ones he reaps at night.

& I; a space, a garden,

with heart-shaped holes like pavement cracks,
awaits for her master

with red pouring out from a swollen heart.
& a wineglass crying for love.

 

iii. drag me to hell

do not ask me how my heart found her way
into the devil’s chamber
that i do not know

you see, love is no crime
though i have been convicted for exploration.
mother tells the priest; how i keep chanting moans
into the night,

calling a name that is not hers
or mine

& writing warmth in bipoc languages
father doesn’t understand.

because my scripts were inked with a black heart
& letters that muffle the presence of a blackman—the devil.

the priest does nothing
& for the first time in running centuries,
a white vessel could be immune to exorcism.

for God so loved love
He became a fan of demonic possession—
one devoid of colour.