Is a woman of color
What you consider me
Even if I’ve never eaten
Raw Kibbeh
No intention of going back
Walking the land
In the suburbs I’ll stay
And mine a Zen garden
4-inch rake in my hand
She cleaned-up good
Is what I thought
Of every brunette who ever became
A blonde.
Is that what I’m supposed to do—
Disintegrate?
Is that what I’m supposed to do
You blanch and I fade
I rub my eyes against the darkness
Near my brain
I power-blast the dye and mask
I wash myself
Away.
Gillian Thomas is a Washington DC-area writer and poet. A graduate of New York City’s Hunter College, Thomas received her bachelor’s degree in English and theater before first being published in the journal The Iconoclast. She currently writes from home, taking breaks to play as many board games as possible with her 10-year old son, Durbin. Thomas’ work has also been featured in Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Gargoyle, Ligeia Magazine, Pembroke Magazine, Topical, Spry, JMWW journal, Grand Little Things, and more.