POM WINNER | Opeyemi Ojo | from a daughter's lips
“from a daughter’s lips”
you warned me of boys and men
of the possibilities and dangers
you said nothing of girls and women
of poets and writers
from the caribbean diaspora.
in all the rants i’ve heard,
i wish you would have provided
the useful information
that wouldn’t have me in this position
comparing the possibilities and dangers
that comes with falling for
a woman, a poet, a writer
from a little island.
i have these feelings for
someone you wouldn’t agree with
i’ve been dropped on the roadside,
the ancestors aren’t picking up
and it’s your number i have memorized
where are the hints and signs?
the stars have dimmed, and
i can’t look at them as guides,
i’m scared they’ll show me
that you’ll disown me.
where did this come from?
it’s a mystery to me
i’m breaking from tradition,
it’s not on the family tree
i’m walking the road less traveled on
and can’t ask for directions from people
who’ve never walked in my shoes
life’s too short for me to introduce
this girl as my friend, when i know
she represents something you
couldn’t wrap your mind around;
i’m showing you pictures of her
and gripping my phone, hoping you
don’t swipe to other photos
of us on a date, kissing, or naked
or me watching, admiring her
cause you’d notice it in my face,
in the way my eyes light up--
friends don’t look at friends that way
she’s the type of girl
that would make you proud
you’d ignore that she’s younger,
that she’s not done with college,
that her relationship with her mother
resembles ours before i moved out;
you’d realize she was raised right,
by a single mother and missing father,
you’d understand she prays often
and is in tune with her soul
you’d see why i could
call her a mate to my soul.
the point i’m trying to make is
i’m different from everyone in the family
i’m your only daughter, you thanked God
the moment that you met me
you went through all the pain to have me
so promise you won’t resent me
it’s about time that i came out,
the closet can finally be empty.