Leslie Stevens 5/22/23 Leslie Stevens 5/22/23

Ode: to the Gal in the Mirror

This place in the mirror has been sacred ground to fill with wonder and winding hips, wetness and weirdness in toe.

Leslie Stevens 1/6/23 Leslie Stevens 1/6/23

Little Things On the Way to Healing

Expertly rangling in the chaos into a mounted beast that carries me back to the space where this may have begun. Into the silent sanctuary, with air peppered with sorrow and grief. I sway sorting lullabies from spells, crooning softly in the waning moonlight. I collapse into 96 pieces of me and all the others I carry inside. I heal with a million little things on the path from now til then.

Leslie Stevens 12/13/20 Leslie Stevens 12/13/20

I Want to be Pursued Vigorously

Don’t let go, for a galaxy such as mine cannot be contained or set free.

Leslie Stevens 7/9/20 Leslie Stevens 7/9/20

Entanglement Theory

I have this running theory that we’re all still connected. Some stronger than others. It’s really not my theory, it’s biblical, or at least partly religious. Essentially emotional, physical, mental connections with another person form unspoken bonds.

Leslie Stevens 6/8/20 Leslie Stevens 6/8/20

“What does it mean to defend the dead?”

Social death is the condition of not being accepted as human. It is the condition of being Black. But I am here, aren’t I?

Leslie Stevens 1/18/20 Leslie Stevens 1/18/20

I’ve Been Typing Up Toxic Texts

Combing through words like a thicket of jungle vines, paws tracing her steps in the soft earth.

Leslie Stevens 12/12/18 Leslie Stevens 12/12/18

The Past

My coquettish spirit dances on the swing of a boomerang. Feeling the joy of being right, of being in control of the new end. Trying to take pride in the progress I’ve made while equally thawing in the light of what could’ve been.