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A selection from Castina Charles' book Baad Ass Poetry

WO-MAN

I am an artist with a black pencil
determined to capture
the beginning of origin
I use wo-man as my model
I outline her black curves with
my blank canvas
place her against the blank whiteness
of my white canvas
I shade her in,
blacker and blacker,
covering her with night
I place stars in her eyes
and diamonds in her smile
Let me use the lamb
as a model of idealness
dip into the blackness of the day
and use it as a blanket for her head
She must have strong bones
for all the earth will pass through her
and a hard heart with an inside like gold
all the world’s treasures will be
found there
But there will be many thieves
who will try to possess it
But again I say it must be hard
for after all who else will endure
the earth’s pain and blame
She will bear fruit
through dark blood and red agony
but I will give her ecstasy
so that it may whisper softly
between her thighs
I smile in perplexity at my creation
for she is done
but not quite finished
So I add honey milk of Mount Sinai
right into her breast
nurturing all those whom seek knowledge
Let her eyes capture the 4 seasons
love, hope, hate, bitterness
and her soul withhold the 3 faces of time
beginning, now and infinity
Together we create galaxies
and all that stands within it
Ah…look at her, isn’t she magnificent
She jumps out at me
I’m so full her
She’s the reflection of everything
that is and to be
The seven seas and the seven continents
But what should I call her
I know…
I’ll call her Eve
She’ll be you, me
but not I
for that simply cannot be.