My Serpentine

You are the garden snake that slithers through my freshly plowed Lawn

Wraps itself around my swollen ankles and calls me: “Boy”

Curve its way up my spine until I have no choice but to kneel

My serpentine

You see the way my aching hands bleed

Cracked skin faithfully stacking cracked brick

Under a sweltering southern sun

My serpentine

Tonight, I scrub the crinkled stone walls clean

Wipe off the venom before it stains my skin

Let my tears water the trees that loan me shade

When did time become cemented between / these bricks?

My serpentine

Forgive me for overstepping unmarked boundaries

For stepping all over these bountiful gardens

Pavilions that leave you perched above me

In a sickening silence that swells in my ear

Hear the names of my brothers and sisters

Echoing down from pristine balconies

The crack of your whip meets the click of our tongues

Our languages remain foreign to one another

My serpentine

You changed your colors with the seasons

Turned your Confederate cardinal red to orange and blue

Kept your hatred tucked inside corks and curls

Now you see some secrets simply must unfurl

And topple, the way Kitty Foster’s home did

Left in the shadows while your Rotunda was rebuilt

Such recklessness reigning from those called rational

The consequences of your actions are far from fractional

My serpentine

Must Swanson sue you to gain your attention

Use your laws, your language, until you bite your own tongue

Crouch between your colonnades quoting Jefferson

Until the contradictions catch you off guard

Catch you idle as my humanity is threatened

Catch you silent as my community is displaced

Catch you indifferent as my story is erased

Watch how quickly you craft the next excuse

When did hate become cemented between these bricks?

My serpentine

Your fang marks stay swollen on my chest

Trying to suck the life out of our families

Trying to suck the soul out of our names

Trying to suck the truth out of our histories

When I shout for justice, you cry for understanding

Your hot breath fogs up windows until I am invisible

When I demand change, you question my legitimacy

Pretend I speak of myths, Boy, check your white fragility

My serpentine

I see you

Fierce eyes, scales, and all

You cannot shed yourself of me

My body

My being

My serpentine

I built you

Winding curves, cracks, and all

You cannot see yourself without me

My body

My being

My serpentine

I write you down and capture myself

I tear you down and free myself

Read on April 11th, 2021 at the dedication for the UVA Memorial to Enslaved Laborers