(when asked why it's necessary to have a yoga class just for women of color....)
it is time to open up what has too long been closed
those back pages of the alternative weekly
filled with lisitings of asian call girls
release them from the sealed boxes of the classified ads
these groins we held hard
knees squeezed together to protect us
from the men we were supposed to trust
it is time to open up what has too long been closed
forced onto boats by traders or our own desperation
shackles on wrists and ankles across oceans
crowded boats of refugees unable to find safe harbor
it is time to open up what has too long been closed
lips sealed tight, ashamed of our accents
taught to be polite and submissive
sweaty armpits and hairy legs we were taught to hide
post-traumatic heart centers and tightened lungs
tawny brown, olive sallow, and deep mahogany skin
that marked us as inferior
it is time to open up what has too long been closed
our minds grown rigid from
negotiating the dissonance of our beautiful bodies
in a world that either discarded us
or put us in gilded cages like exotic birds
open the grave of sarah baartman
and bring her home to south africa
release her from the world’s fair
where she was mocked as the hottentot venus
break open the glass case in paris
where her skeleton, genitals, and brain were displayed
it is time to open up what has too long been closed
throw open the doors and windows of nail salons and dry
cleaners
filled with the smog of neurotoxins
as dainty yellow hands caress yours
unlock the doors of sweatshops overseas
where brown sisters toil to feed their children and
grandchildren
throw open the curtains on brothels here and everywhere
southeast asian sex tours
trafficked sisters drugged and enslaved
it is time to open up what has too long been closed
open your throat and bellow
open your mind and decolonize yourself
open your groins and shed your shame
open your heart and pour out your joy and suffering
open your belly and fill it with breath
it is time to open up what has too long been closed
1 may 2013
pkh
