Midnight passage over water. Blushing strawberry moon. A litany of stars reflecting the deep blue story curving into my Black body. I hope to see my mother on the other side. Here is a coffin to mold into a boat to lay inside. So many of us chose freedom. Chose the bottom of the sea. The country that gives me my citizenship is the river inside my flesh.
River Mouth promise me my flowers. Cattails be my scepter. Lily Pads guide me to the dark mud where sadness is exchanged for succulent joy. Black Crowned Night Heron show me the shallow place where the ducks rest and feed on wild celery. Where the bell of Second Baptist Church joins the hymn of the river It’s our siren. Our freshwater drum to fly on the current of change. My body is no man’s property.
Follow the whispered whisker of catfish. The tail flip of walleye. The bird chirp of the otter Cross my heart | Cross my arms| Cross the days off | Cross the river No flag but the one burning behind me. I see a bright light. It must be my mother singing at dawn. I know it’s her because of the open arms of the shore that slop me up – all shipwreck & driftwood, algae braided in my hair. Swallow Song in my throat. The river has delivered me to the curve of her bosom.
Katelyn Rivas Bio
Katelyn Rivas (she/they) is a poet, essayist, researcher, teaching artist, cultural organizer, and mother who examines themes of Black girlhood, transracial adoption, motherhood, abolition, and care for Black bodies through their creative work. In their cultural organizing and arts administrative work, Katelyn has worked in arts-based civic engagement, arts for community transformation, and creative youth programming for over 10 years. She completed an MA from Eastern University in Urban Studies and Community Arts and has a BA in English and Writing, Art and Design from Northern Michigan University. In 2019, she published the chapbook “Radical Self-Care for Black Women” and founded the Detroit chapter of The Free Black Women’s Library. Their work has been featured in Michigan Quarterly, Khöra, Tayo Literary Magazine, and others. Katelyn is currently at work on a memoir that is about their experience as a transracial adoptee, composing their own definition of Blackness where she weaves personal and political narratives through braided essays that combine prose, verse, and Black Feminist reproductive rights issues. When not writing, she can be found adventuring with her daughter, laughing with friends, and dreaming up a prairie garden.
