rites of strength
by adon wade-currie
CW: cannibalism, racial slurs, torture/violence, self-harm
on the night of my confirmation to the coven
witches will rap in neo-niggerish so guttural
it resonates in their bones and strikes fear into the ground
emaciated purple dogs with big heads and bigger black spots
will howl at filthy white bonnets over perfectly picked afros
infants will cry bloody murder in calls to prayer
every child is born knowing they deserve reverence
and we will all be made to remember
the welcome mat is really just a neat pile of ash
leave your shoes outside and the fresh flowers on top of the dead ones
my house guests have brought curses as gifts again
and all i have to offer them is the dregs of my tea
they accept it, not because they are gracious - no, there's no time for that!
they do so with the wisdom to give anything purpose
today, the sin-eaters are gathering around my table to gorge themselves
on dirty old men sinking to their knees in cauldrons of boiling water
my master says, if you don’t smash an ant, you’ll never see its guts
so i keep the sun and a magnifying glass in my pocket
in the evening we floated
up to the moon and picked cotton by hand
just to know how it feels to be
weighed down in a chronological sense
crusty hands and crimson flowers
we were careful but never intended to become skilled
ready to die, the moths flapped their wings slowly
flicking off the rust before hurdling back down with us
in the garden we brushed the soot from our faces
and nibbled on cake served in prickly bolls
i grit my teeth and awaited my calluses, like all the other apprentices
i was told to leave my crumbs for the moths, so i did
- August 28
just adon, or simply.. adon, is a jamaican-american literary artist born and raised in boston. she is driven by obsession, impulsivity, and a healthy fear of loneliness. with aspirations of creating and fostering connections, she began rapping and producing experimental music in quarantine. on a whim this summer, she became a poet, an apprenticing hand engraver, and finally started performing. adon has featured in the reading series [Working Title], and you can find her most recently released music on streaming services – her musical archive is on bandcamp. her next projects, the opposite of trauma and a currently untitled anthology, are scheduled for release in 2024 and 2025, respectively.. fingers crossed.