The Black Napkin Volume 1 Issue 2 | Page 16

13

Urban Girl Upon Identifying Her Father’s Dead Body

by Siaara Freeman

i chew gum. 2 packs of double-mint. i need to make my mouth move.

i haven’t spoken in hours & im not sure about my mouth

still moving. i remember reading aloud about Maya Angelo not speaking

for 7 years. i remember thinking “that’s a lot

of remembering you do in silence”. I’ve got to make my mouth move.

I think about my daddy & how he got the last word

it seems the best way

to make yo’ brain not move as much

is to make yo’ mouth move

more.