Growth
For this flower to bloom I must treat it with tender care Water its soil Trim the weeds round its base And open these blinds of depression So the sun may shine through
I want to see its petals Brush past the tall grass And wave its blossoms to the sky above
Won’t someone? Come water me Tend to the dirt on my limbs The cracks in my spine Lather the places where thorns have grown Soften them with tender kisses And affirmations
For my flower to bloom I must leave from this darkened space This weight of cotton beneath me Pressure of life above me
Tend to me, love me Watch me grow From the seedling My father planted hastily into my mother Then left her to feed Such that while she went scraping up Whatever the fuck it is you feed to plants The world battered me Shaping the ways my roots went Which ones became unearthed and further beaten by stormy days— Into the fleur of my choosing
First, I must leave this room.
© Ama Akoto (2018)