Legacy by CM.Cancel

I am still drowning on the same waters

My people canoed in, too.

The salt burning my eyes, my throat.

Fire in my chest as the chains weigh me 

Down as I sink in the slave ships,

Despite the hundreds of years 

Spanned between this body 

And generations worth of trauma.

Bones and spirit broken

As they came to rape us,

Beat and break us,

Mold Taino into Latino.

Ancestor blood searing my veins,

Memories of pain screaming

To remember our roots run deep,

No matter how hard they try to cut

Us down.

CM.Cancel is a queer, Latinx writer. They’re based out of New York, currently working on a novel and poetry chapbook. When they aren’t lost in their writing, you can find CM either curled up with a book or exploring the outdoors with their husband. CM has been published in 14Poems, Before I Leave Zine, and Headline Poetry & Press. You can find them on Instagram @cm.cancel.

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: