“Jerrod” Solange Knowles

Hey y’all,

I hope everyone is okay in light of everything going on right now with Rona making her rounds and cancelling everything—including some people’s livelihood, such as funds, housing, health, and academic plans. I pray nothing but grace and protection over you and yours as we all find a way to limit our human social interactions for the health and wellbeing of each other. I haven’t been writing because I think it’s very healthy to take a break, and I’ve learned the hard way to not force my pen for the sake of practice or profit. If nothings coming to me then it’s a time for me to observe and be quiet. But also sometimes I just don’t got nothing to say and that’s okay! But I wrote this:

The Sun’s Girl

Green clusters on the edges of my days now/Everything in my peripheral is in bloom/Some trees are losing their skeleton branches /And I think that’s the earth’s exhale.

I play with shadows on the side of my house at high noon /I make a crown and the sun shines on my head/Like it did when I was born/My fingers dance the shapes the sun wanted me to see/We make up figures together /And I wonder if Icarus ever played with the sun.

I make sure the glow hits the nape of my neck/ I let the sun kiss me like a lover who is sorry/My new love language is the glimmer on my gold chain/ One day it’ll be warm enough to imprint on me /But for now it just defines me It justifies everything I claim to be/ Even if it’s just in my mind

I opened my window fully and cracked my arms like wishbones/ Let my smile lie slack on my face like a open robe/ Shoulders arched back—everything the light touches is divine/ It plays in my hair so does that mean it loves me?/Anyway/Tomorrow I will touch the green on the edges of my days a little bit more than I did—today.