POM WINNER | Opeyemi Ojo | from a daughter's lips

an excerpt from the full poem

“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.