I share my brother’s tomb In our time apart, I hope for his arrival funeral With guns, green grass and loud hills We spend time along rocked, blued, edges Arms as balance Mine more, yours less Legs crossed like the skies we share Mine more Yours less I present compost as an abolitionary imaginary. Where our collective is the recognition …
I Eat Therefore I am
Humans are Omnivores. Anatomically, we can survive on both plant and animal products, which puts us on the third trophic level of the food chain. However, unlike other species that consume other organisms to move energy through the ecosystem and survive, humans have managed to intertwine food systems with cultural systems, self, and identity. How individuals eat and talk about …
Reimagining Personhood
Western jurisprudence conceives of individuals as atomistic actors that operate independently and are predominantly self-interested. In turn, a legal or juristic personality is understood as an entity other than a natural being that the law deems capable of upholding the rights, duties, and liabilities of a living person. This ideology, however, is problematic because it discounts the relationships that are …
Land Stories: Letters I never sent
As I write this my legs crossed on the chair my fingers tap gently on a keyboard my lips take alternative sips of orange juice and a berry smoothie both reminding me that neither fruit was ripe or birthed from this soil I attempt to warm my hands in my partner’s comfy sweater it’s incredible how rubbing our hands together, …
Grey face studded by mineral – stoned, as her pockets bleed:
Cobalt Mining in D.R. Congo
The freezing temperature of water is zero degrees Celsius. Mercury falls below this threshold; water molecules slow and coalesce into one solid structure. Ice will not form unless there is some sort of impurity in the water: specks of soil, bubbles of air. And so, in some cases water can remain in its liquid form at such low temperatures as …
Why Black People Don’t Go Camping
White child runs through scenic fields collecting wildflowers and stones. White child swims in the lake by her family’s cottage. She slathers sunscreen on her arms so that she doesn’t get burnt. Black child runs through concrete playgrounds and grips metal monkey bars. Black child spins under the water of her family’s water hose. Black child inhales exhaust from streetcars …
Amazi:
Reflections on Water
Amazi is Kinyrwandan for Water. Amanzi is IsiXhosa and IsiZulu for Water. Ama is Cherokee for Water. Madzi is Chichewa for Water. Omi is Yoruba for Water. Dlo is Haitian Creole for Water As I write this, I remember a question my professor posed to the class, “What is your gift to the Earth?” This was after we discussed reciprocity …
“Where all the Black people live”:
A Tale of Two Scarborough's
Suburbia is no home for Black children, and neither are our cities. In the suburbs, they had us isolated, ridiculed and harassed. In the cities, they grouped us together, stole our neighbourhoods, and killed our communities.
DEAR GOD, THE WHITE MAN BROKE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.
DEAR GOD, I wonder why we’re caught in this trap. The White man is not you, and you are not a White man. So why do we see White people as so high on a sociological scale even after being freed in body? I see why mental transformation in Romans 12:2 is so important. Not conforming to this world is …
A Year of Doubt
The other night, I dreamt that my family was in Pakistan.My grandmother, brought back to life, was urging me to pray.She handed me a tasbeeh and told me to show it to my grandfather,transforming my acceptance of the beaded string into a promised prayer.After some time, I settled down and tried to pray, butI couldn’t remember the words I was …
