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​

GLOW | QUEER POETRY FEATURE: KIKI NICOLE

2/2/2017

 
​Below, you will find two poems from Kiki Nicole.
Picture

​ w e r q

for lunch i eat hot cheetos & read
most days i am too poor & sleep deprived to pack a lunch
i put on my best wig
paint my eyes crimson
i wash my hands in the employee bathroom like ritual
still fingers stained red
i am the only register
o p e n

                                                                            xx

always a servile thing
wore my best wig for you today, ‘suh
didn’t you notice
do you like it
wore it just for you

                                                                            xx

i’m not allowed to touch their hands when they pay me
no, this is not written in the handbook
call it an unwritten rule
people like me just know these things
even on my best behavior i be too corner store to touch
i pick money off of the counter
i am not allowed to make eye contact with them
see
we don’t even use the same bathroom

                                                                            xx

i bet they don’t think i know anything
that i’ve never read a book in my life
just sell them
programmed with answers
a servile thing
o p e n

                                                                            xx

i play girl for 8 hours
i play blk for 24

                                                                            xx

this barely pays for my rent
but we free now
in the union
guess that means something to y’all

                                                                            xx

i don’t sleep to dream
i’ll play dead if you want me to
a servile thing
even in my dreams i am not blk enough
even in my dreams
i am anything but

​boi hood
remember when i was a boy// me neither// but my momma used to braid my hair all up// tight
//bamboo in 1b// & i used to hate mirrors then// changed my name to kevin// but only when
them cornrows was in// a chip off the ole hood// call it a block// a lapse in memory// i shape
shift into boy// ride my scooter & dart bullets// storm through playgrounds// remember when
i had a boy’s parts// me neither// but my momma used to buy so much of our clothes from old
navy during black friday// & i hated getting jeans from there// made me look like i had some
thing to hide in my pants// made me look extra down there// somethin bout the inseam//i
tornado thru puberties// made me boy when i didn’t know how to be// made me so aware of the
way clothes took shape on my body without my permission// & i hated lookin like that// like
hard jutted through my cheekbones// i north avenue// even in my finest dresses

​kiki nicole is an agender yung negro artist currently based in Portland, OR. They are a poet and artist with work published in several anthologies and online on sites such as but not limited to, Drunk in a Midnight Choir, WusGood Magazine, Rose Water Mag, Voicemail Poems, and Medium. They are a 2016 Pink Door Writing Fellow, a semi-finalist for the first annual The Voice is a Muscle grant from Corporeal Voices, and a 2017 cohort of the Queer Emerging Artist Residency at Destiny Arts. They can be found at kikinicole.com

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  • Home
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  • Programs
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    • Visual Arts Collaboration
    • Past Programs
  • Events
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Sister Spit Merch