he traces the tattoo
of Africa on my back
tells me how he wants
to go back to Sierra Leone
he traces the tattoo
of Africa on my back
tells me how he wants
to go back to Sierra Leone
I want to ask him
how he can love a mother
land that chewed and spit
him out like broken teeth
but when I open my mouth
all I can taste is the grittiness
of sand. I’m scared
he’ll smell the graveyard I carry
behind my lips