Accented / keisha lynne ellis

Our dialect coarse,
like our hair.
Heavy,
like our drum.
Sour,
like our lime.
So we is
Press it.
Drop it.
Sweeten it.
Our tones and vowels
Bitter,
like aloes.
So we is
Spit them out
Fast, fast.
Especially,
if we
Educated
or artistic.
‘Cause nothing
With worth
Could come out
A mouth
What fulla
Pig feet
and fish head.

•••

Keisha Lynne Ellis feels as though writing may very well be her only hope for gaining and maintaining sanity in a world entrenched in absurdity. She writes short stories, spoken word poetry and critical essays.