Wednesday
the rain meets us this morning // sun-peeks
through curtain // soft trail of white, cloud
mirage // my eyes open; you are there
the rain meets us this evening // dress for
mid-week service // white to swim
at the edge of Nassau // I am here; I am nowhere
the rain meets us // the rain meets us //
and tomorrow will be just like yesterday
the Nassau tide swells softly // harshly //
and the rain crashes, it crashes // I forget
to call you; but you remember me
Thursday
It is our first kiss. You are shirtless in a small white
room. I am nervous, but your hands are big. There is
rain, rain, a rapture against glass. I feel soft, and hot,
and pretty; and the heat of your mouth fills my belly.
It is Wednesday: it was Wednesday yesterday, and it
will be Wednesday tomorrow. You put a gentle hand
on my thigh. I release a soft moan. When the sun sets
and rises, I will forget to call you. You will dial my
number, fingers nimble, sure; and tomorrow will be
just like yesterday.
In perpetuity
(or, I useta say Ine no big pussy gyal but I change my mind)
I feel a bud growing from my mouth // big pussy-flower
red-fat the tongue // say African tulip run in the family, and I
I could neva satisfy
I plant when the smell comes before wet // like the rain
I have no beginning, no end // like the water, I am forever
heady with fullness
Flower falls over chin // light like freshwater // soft
like new-moon ocean // pull at the bud for fill
of spry and petal
I useta say Ine no big pussy gyal but I change my mind.
now I say my rainwater is ripe // is heavy // it run
in the family you know, so I
I could neva satisfy
Letitia Marie Pratt is an associate curator of the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas. Her work explores the peculiarity of living in a landscape laden with stories related to the divine feminine, healing, and inherited notions of the self. She is the author of the chapbook Pulling the Wings from Out My Back (Poinciana Paper Press, 2016), and her writing appears in PREE, WomanSpeak, Bookmarked: PREE New Caribbean Writing, and the Caribbean Writer and was included in National Exhibitions 8 (2016) and 9 (2018) at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas. In 2016, she completed a residency at the Fresh Milk Art Platform in Barbados. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.