You know it’s hot enough when

your nose runs.

Extra points for head sweats.

Egusi soup with fufu—

Ooh! Ooh!

Reasons that trigger(ed) fight or flight responses in the author:

Agoraphobia (fear of leaving one’s home or crowded spaces): I was afraid of y’all’s germs before we were mandated to wear masks on faces.

I was cut from a mature mother plant—glowing, succulent leaves

of astonishing beauty.

My root system strong,

but I struggled to get on.

My name means “joy,”

which was privately funny;

I smile lovely,

but lean melancholy.

I am a sunflower, growing

toward the sun and sprouting

edible seeds before

I’m gone.

Alas! My review

of the year 2022.

I’d give it a 1/10,

do not recommend.

Fame is a B-I-T-C-H;

has a song

that’s played out

when it’s still new.

I grew up at a time when

horror flicks

were watched by kids.

Horribly

Insensitive

Joke about “ghetto names.”

Kinda

Lame.

Uncertain, I sowed seeds,

babied them under grow lights.

I created life!

I put the weight down.

I can’t carry hate or ill will

if I wanna heal.

You will transform from gold

into token;

in other words, reverse alchemy.

I don’t know

what a shamble is—

just that my life was in ‘em.