Poetry

Affilia: Journal of Women and Social

Work

Poetry 25(4) 365-367

ª 2010 SAGE Publications
Reprints and permission:
sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0886109910384238
http://affilia.sagepub.com

Staceyann Chin

Neighbors: For Centuries

In the past we sat
softening your pale hands
on porches and verandahs
squinting our tired eyes
so we could better watch your horizon for rain
even as the same sperm traveled up the brutal canal of knowing
you pretended the growing mulatto child
was conceived another way
both of us
his property
swallowed the violation and bled our pain away
Our cycles
must have synchronized our wombs
cocooned as we were
in those small rooms shared by the birthing
the stained sheets pulled from under your cushioned legs
were used to wipe our blood from the wooden floor
we were both whores in the same brothel
you just had a better bed
Anyone can trace our veined connection
across the skies of our raped histories
the mystery of how we both bore the affront
is still evident in the way you do not know
why my hair does what it does
when it has not been butchered
or lye-d
or pulled straight by the heat of iron hands
Centuries later
we are still walking out of step
with our documented conscience
everyday we silence our need for vengeance
for solidarity with you
we stifle the scent of our rising moons
to raise your sons in safety

Downloaded from aff.sagepub.com at NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY on May 30, 2015

366 Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work 25(4)

Do you know
we scalped our daughters to be accepted by you
The sting still lingers in the way
black women are offended by the convicted afro
on my sleeve
I do not believe we have to be separate
but equality should be more than a dirty word
frat girls use in college essays
for extra credit
I am saying
there is a deficit
in the fine balance of our feminine frailties
I am saying
the women’s movement has always made use
of my dark body
in the marching
and the flag making and the taking of references
when it needed it
the statistics line themselves up
as columns twisting my spine
it is time we stood up
to be numbered among those wanting retribution
the extent of our contribution demands
that we be given some consideration
in the distribution of wealth
and health insurance policies that cover therapy
we would like to have someone to look at the wounds
we have been stitching
for centuries
We have been fighting for this
for centuries
and we are tired
and angry and entitled and hungry
we are also flesh
and breath and beauty
the forgotten duty of the sisterhood
we are bone and broken
and bleeding and needing to be heard
I do not wish for you
to relinquish privilege
but the definition of the word
privilege must
widen
include the hand of every woman
whose lips were made thinner by the knife of religion
the concerns presented
must be representative of the collective

Downloaded from aff.sagepub.com at NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY on May 30, 2015

Poetry 367

our politics must ground itself

in more than the wishes of the favored few
none of this is novel to you
these conditions are absolute
and necessary
and non-negotiable
and long overdue
you have to hear us
see us
white woman you have to speak to us soon
else you might have the colored girls
guerilla resisting
in a new a war against you
Staceyann Chin is a fulltime writer and activist. She identifies as Caribbean and Black, Asian and lesbian,
woman and resident of New York City. A proud Jamaican National, she is best known as co-writer and original
performer in the Tony award winning, Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway.
Featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Chin’s three one-woman shows, HANDS AFIRE, UNSPEAKABLE
THINGS, and BORDER/CLASH all opened to rave reviews at the Culture Project in New York City.

Chin’s memoir, The Other Side of Paradise, was published by Scribner. Simon and
Schuster, Inc. 2009. staceyannchin.com myspace.com/staceyannchin.com
chinpoet@gmail.com

Downloaded from aff.sagepub.com at NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY on May 30, 2015