On Adulthood

Hunger is an inescapable aspect of my Black womanhood

Photo: Nsey Benajah/Unsplash

~ Nikki Giovanni, “Adulthood II” (from Cotton Candy on a Rainy Day, 1978)

There is always something / of the child / in us that wants / a strong hand to hold / through the hungry season / of growing up

My heart is a lonely heart. It reflects the beginnings of a depression that I will learn will…