For The Girl Who Painted Roaches


We grew up in the same
trash heap of poverty
scavenging for any kind
of affection
but often we were hated
for the way we looked
and got the wrong
kind of attention

they say roaches
are afraid of the light
but it is not because
of some kind of dark
sins they need to hide
how often did our own
fears send us scattering
wanting to hide inside walls
whenever someone came to punch out our lights
or from the names we were called?

this is for the girl
who painted roaches
when she was a child
and roaches have wings
but never use them to fly
they were her toys
and perhaps a source of friendship
she learned to accept them
along with her hardships

and were we so pest-like
that we were often left underfoot
by our own families?
this is for the girl
who was left to die with the ticks
tied to a tree
and this is for the struggles
that tie her to me

she painted roaches
and colorized her poverty
a young Black Native girl
stuck in a black and white world
someone had to paint it pretty