Sami Schalk
I drop in with a dense
ker-plunk
the water moving away
in thick ripples that slap
the side of the pool
like an ocean all my own.
I am not smooth
or seamless,
not delicate
in my swim.
But perhaps this is best,
to feel the conspicuous
movement of my body
even while weightless.
Because who sees
a big black woman
and considers her delicate?
Who stops to think
she might be someone
who can break
or has been broken?
–
Sami Schalk is a feminist poet from Southgate, Kentucky. She received her Bachelor degrees in Creative Writing and Women’s Studies at Miami University of Ohio and her MFA in Creative Writing at the University of Notre Dame. Sami is a Cave Canem fellow and member of Women Writing for (a) Change. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in CC&D, Diverse Voices Quarterly, The Battered Suitcase and elsewhere. Currently, she is a doctoral student at Indiana University in Gender Studies.
Pingback: Web Anthology Nominations | Emprise Review