Poetry 2018 Longlist, Anila M Vivek

The Wench

What is it about melanin,
That gets under people’s skin?
What is it about my birth hole,
That obliterates a Man’s soul?
What is it about ebony and mahogany,
That makes me immune to agony?
What is it about my birth,
That makes me cheaper than dirt?
What is it about your Trinity,
That allows you to destroy with impunity?
What is it about my blood,
That allows you to whip it into flood?
What is it about my breath,
That attracts the worst kind of death?
What is it about my tears,
That clogs tight your ears?
What is it about my pain,
That negates everything humane?
What is it about my life,
That it is considered profane?