Moon marked and touched by sun
my magic is unwritten
but when the sea turns
back
it will leave my shape
behind.
I seek no favor
untouched by blood
unrelenting as the
curse of love
permanent as my errors
or my pride
I do not mix
love with pity
nor hate with scorn
and if you would know
me
look into the entrails
of Uranus
where the restless
oceans pound.
I do not dwell
within my birth nor my
divinities
who am ageless and
half-grown
and still seeking
my sisters
witches in Dahomey
wear me inside their
coiled cloths
as our mother did
mourning.
I have been woman
for a long time
beware my smile
I am treacherous with
old magic
and the noon's new fury
with all your wide
futures
promised
I am
woman
and not white.
Audre Lorde
(Picture: The Flame Goddess of Fire, Odilon Redon)
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