My people be water people
‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎which means they know how to swim
in shark infested waters

My people be water people so long
they grew gills
turned

drowning into
good at submarine like submission in the dark

Missile-like screams pressed and ready.
We be so focused on finding the shore—
charting our course towards safety
exit be etched in our DNA

My people be water people
which means they know
something about being submarines—
staying below the surface and surveilling
the threat

Wish I could say my people were bathe
in the sun type fish, let the waves prune
our skin til we raisin
Wanna be salt, brine, and savory
people

Want be, drink leisurely
by the pool, people
Bask in the here and now

Want my people to breathe in through
their nose, out through their mouth
know how to relax, stay calm
but rest was not in our dialect.
Holding our breath be the way
we say, “I love you.”

Khalisa Rae is an award-winning author, activist, and storyteller. As a queer rights advocate and community builder, she seeks to uplift Black queer voices. She is the author of the poetry collection, Ghost in a Black Girl’s Throat and the sold-out play production, Seven Deadly Sins of Being a Woman. An accomplished performer, journalist, and playwright, her writing has been featured in countless literary journals and magazines, including Pinch, PANK, Autumn House, Jezebel, Blavity, and NBC-BLK. Her impactful work has received a Appalachian Arts and Entertainment Award, a Gwendolyn Brooks Prize, and multiple Pushcart nominations, among others. She is the founder of Think in Ink Literary Collective, the WOC Speak reading series, and a co-founder of the Griot and Grey Owl Black Southern Writers Conference. Khalisa Rae’s YA novel in verse, Unlearning Eden is forthcoming.