Hi Friends, Today I’m sharing a new video of my poem, “Boomerang Valentine”, originally published in my book, “Lord of the Butterflies”. The poem was inspired by my friend Sonya Renee Taylor and her book/movement, “The Body is Not An Apology”. (Isn’t that a great name? It makes me think about the times I’ve apologized for my body. Apologized for anxiety. Apologized for illness. Apologized for loving who I love. How the word ‘sorry’ can so easily be turned from a tourniquet to a weapon.) I met Sonya in 2004 when she kicked my whole-entire booty in the finals of the National Poetry Slam. Oh, how I wanted to win that thing! But losing to Sonya didn’t feel like losing, as sharing a stage or any space with her brilliance is an endless gift to the spirit.
“The Body is Not An Apology” works to educate folks about radical, unapologetic self-love, but in a powerfully intersectional way, incorporating discussions on ableism, white supremacy, queerness, and so much more. But “Boomerang Valentine” was not written during a time when I was head-over-heels about who I was. I wrote it as a roadmap toward self-love, and though I’ve crashed a few hundred times along the way (and ran myself over in the crosswalk just as often) I can’t think of a more worthwhile path to keep traveling.
