They said come down to the water
You can bathe in the cool drops of the water
Water that washes away all the uncleanliness and sin
But there is a sin of being in these parts
Those who the call to join in the water
Was not a real invitation
Not a real welcoming
As black and brown bodies are stains
in the eyes of those who believe that
water only washes to whiteness
And black and brown bodies cannot be cleaned
They do not have the ability to be scrubbed clean
And when placed in the water, whitness fears–
It fears the muddying of clear waters
Because if I, and my brothers and sisters
Were to dive inside the vastness of the water
We would float along on our backs
Watching as the water dispersed and rippled around us
Beautiful, bold, dark glimpses of hope
As we cut our way through its depth
And there would be something in the water–
The crystal clear, deep reminder
That blackness survives
No matter how hard you try to wash it away
Odelia Younge 