juliette givhan
In the dream we were lions—
big & gold & cat
bloody mouthed & sun drunk
on savannah grass—
long before the triangle trade
skinned us
before whip wheels &
sugar cane plantation amputations
left marks on our bodies
that would never disappear.
In the dream we were lions
with the heads of women—
dangerous & beautiful
bringers of death,
tongues riddled with a magic
century thick & strong enough
to devour men too stupid
to know when to run.
Lions before Herakles & violence,
when impervious
was more than just a word
& harm wore the face
of a man.
We were lions
before fire & whip
& leaps through hoops—
as if we weren’t already burning.
In the dream we were lions
& I was much louder then.
***
Juliette Givhan is a Black poet who writes about myths and memes. Her work appears in ANMLY Magazine, Change Seven Magazine, Two Hawks Quarterly, with forthcoming poems in Pidgeonholes Magazine and baest Journal.