Yasmina Martin
Image by Oladimeji Odunsi Wecunh on Unsplash
Yasmina Martin (she/they) is a poet and doctoral student studying African history. Her work can be found in Visceral Brooklyn, Blackberry Mag, and the Vitni Review, and is forthcoming in The New Southern Fugitives (June 2021). She lives in Brooklyn.
Five years north of apartheid
slow exhales. We marvel
at steam rising above teal hot
springs and their scorched inhabitants,
blistering red. Three brown dashes
dance blazes against the Cederberg
mountains. Everything softened
by years not lived. The heat cocoons
us while the lobsters’ gazes
puncture our bliss. They
exit under mounting
pressure. We, the oblivious
float while falling, hold
our breaths and attempt
survival within immense
heat. Mother smiles, says look,
it’s ours. Mahogany
glistening in maroon swimsuit.
Laugh and worry lines
are cousins. Worlds apart,
we prune, surrendering ourselves
while they regard us with hesitation
and dulled revulsion. Mother
sighs. We sink
to rise up again.
©2021 West Trade Review
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