KISSED THERE MYSELF and RADA RAINCOAT | Lenelle Moïse
KISSED THERE MYSELF
my poem wears a skirt
and tells the truth
the only blush on her
brushed on cinnamon
her name
she shameless
my poem flaunts sequins clutches
dutch wax headscarves
struts in hand-painted clogs
for comfort
fishnet stockings
just because
my poem’ll turn her head when
you whine freda
holds mirrors for court
conch shell for microphone
skinny-dips in chango storms
twerks by moonlight
smears honey on what stings
then swats it
the only yellow on her a gift
from the old worshipped sun
poem makes flat broke
look stately
had to borrow
one of frida’s skirts
gold dusted
seaweed hemmed
solar flared with five
embroidered roses
silk wool blend
dotted with azure beads
one pocket full of
graphite pencils
the other heavy
with citrine and yes
skirt long to cover
stiff legs
running in time
with ella’s gibberish
saturday long to catch
the wind like monarchs
the only stain on her
my own inky thumbprints
and the lipstick
i kissed there myself
RADA RAINCOAT
a talisman to get
her through
an amulet to arm
her trek
barbancourt rum
sweeten the bath
palma christi
tickle the scalp
drip of jasmine
wake the earlobes
coconut water
cool the neck
ibis feather
stroke both breasts
sap of mapou
grease the elbows
oil of vetiver
honor the spine
belt of hibiscus
wax the hips
peeled kenèp
tone her soft
silver sequins
embellish thighs
pineapple rind
knight the knees
breadfruit flour
bless the shins
drop of saut d’eau
warm the limp
juice of limes
coat new songs
rada raincoat
tent this faith
petwo bellow
shake those thieves
three dark leaves
to boost cold tea
three dark leaves
to breathe into
Author Bio:
Lenelle Moïse is a poet, playwright, song-maker and solo performance artist. Her Haiti Glass (City Lights/Sister Spit) was a winner of the 2015 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award. Her two-act comedy, Merit, won the 2012 Ruby Prize. She also wrote, composed, and co-starred in the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway drama Expatriate. Her other plays include The Many Faces of Nia, Matermorphosis, Cornered in the Dark and K.I.S.S.I.N.G. (commissioned by the Clark University Department of Theatre). Moïse was a 2012-2014 Huntington Theatre Company Playwriting Fellow and the 2010-2012 Poet Laureate of Northampton, Massachusetts. Her writing has been featured in several magazines and anthologies, including Word Warriors: 35 Women Leaders in the Spoken Word Revolution. She has received awards, residencies and/or commissions from the Gaea Foundation, Southern Rep, Hedgebrook, the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, Northwestern University, UT Austin, and the Black Women Playwrights’ Group. She has released two recordings: Madivinez and The Expatriate Amplification Project. For more information, visit http://www.lenellemoise.com