For Queen Nzinga

By Susie Kimathi

Quietly, oh so quietly, I sat amongst the tulips
Wilted, wilting, shredded, fallen from defeat
History home to my shame red petals stem blood
Erased have I been or razer-sharp our demise

Before when I planted the tulips the queen seeds
What pride then or what song my ancestors stone
My reign where black woman the Aphrodite
In a meadow river sleeps and awakens spirits whole

this is our undoing when every drop collects a storm
flooding heinous chambers chains in cages cropped
No any near far doom

Open your eyes Nzinga you are where you died
Your sons waft, wise, widen for ours today yester
In loud louder loudest throbs freedom pulse rising

Susie Kimathi is a poet and writer based in NYC. She holds an M.F.A. from University of Washington. She has also worked in New York city’s public schools teaching at elementary level for 15 years. She lives with her beautiful daughter in Brooklyn.