i am not warsan shire.
i am not sonia sanchez.
i am not audre lorde.
i am not lucille clifton.
i am not toni morrison.
i am not maya angelou.
i am not nikki giovanni.
i am not zora neale hurston.
i am not alice walker.
i am not ntozake shange
i am not gwendolyn brooks.
i am not rita dove.
i am nayyirah waheed.
though we are unviverses.
that circle through one another.
that weave up and down each others backs, like a family.
we are thirteen individual voices
thirteen individual women of color
from
different countries
different religions and spiritualities
different spaces in time.
but
you will insist
from sun up to sun down
with disrespect and spit foaming from your mouth
that we all sound the
same.