Letter to Me From a Painting
To you, Dear Gerald,
To you, I am the lampblack woman,
I am Mars Black. I am Ivory Black.
I am the abyss of the isthmus.
I have no soft pink underbelly.
I was born in intersections.
of avian and human migrations.
I was driven and derived from India.
I was looted out of Africa.
I am indigenous.
My hair is blue-black
to the middle of my back.
Look long at me
Hear rivers, wind, sails.
Smell sugarcane, and rum.
Touch your bound naked body.
See how the white highlights
my hair. Confirms my bones.
See how the weight
of my being
renders me invisible.
Look long.
You might finally see
that I am the black slate
of your own invention.