staking claim

by jamelah

Posted to Action Poetry on 2002-04-26 07:25:00

i claim my skin:
i claim its color,
coffee soaked in milk,
not dark enough for some,
not light enough for others.
i claim my scars,
trophies won from my
battles with
pavement
from my battles
with myself
from my battles.

i claim my mind:
i claim my memories,
the ones made
and the ones forced.
i claim my thoughts,
the way they crawl over flesh
like greedy hands
at inappropriate moments.
i claim my opinions,
those that scare me
those that scare others
those that create anger
those that make skin crawl.

i claim my mouth:
i claim my passion,
the imprint of things touched
in moments of desire.
i claim my words,
spoken in anger
or kindness
statements made to argue
or love
to take
or share.

i claim my hands:
i claim my walls,
both built and destroyed.
i claim my fists,
curled in anger, ready to fight.
i claim my palms
smoothed over tablecloths
velvet
and flesh.
i claim my fingers,
their curiosity,
their love of touch
the places they’ve gone
in a desire to learn.

i claim my sins:
i claim my lies,
told to save myself
told to save others.
i claim my lust,
the places it’s taken me
the bodies it’s brought me close to
the moments of joy it’s given
in dark corners
against walls
on itchy carpets.

i claim myself:
good and bad.
devil and saint.
virgin and whore.

i have fought to become
and i’m still going.
i’m
still
going.

and you can’t make me bow.
you can’t make me sorry.
you can’t make me scrape out
hollow apologies
to make you feel better.
you can’t
make me.
not this time.
not ever again.

because today
and every day from now on,
i’m mine.

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