ME TOO, NIKKI

Much peace. Today’s poetry prompt is:

Write a poem in which you respond to a favorite poem by another poet.

My poem is in response to one of my favorite poems of all time: Nikki Giovanni’s

“Ego Tripping (there may be a reason why)”

Here is my poem:

ME TOO, NIKKI (in response to Nikki Giovanni’s “Ego Tripping”)

By Farah Lawal Harris, 2026

And I can swim…

like a fish in the ocean.

My hips hold continents—

my womb is a gilded room

where royalty sits enjoying

tea and crumpets.

My skin is so rich,

it caused the melanin-deficient

to riot.

My smile is so bright,

they gotta wear sunscreen

to withstand my light.

The arches of my brows

deliver poisonous arrows

to all my foes.

He, she, and they worship me

from my scalp down to my toes.

I’m so fly,

the birds in the sky shout, “Damn!”

every time they pass me by.

I am that I am.

I am a manifestation

of my great Auntie Cleopatra’s dreams.

When you study the hieroglyphics,

you’ll see an image of me.

I am anything I want to be,

from Maya to Josephine

to Nina to Nikki to Bey.

I mean…I…can shift

like the tectonic plates quaking

our existence…