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issue 1: CARNIVAL

black screen

JASMINE FLOWERS
           —inspired by Us (dir. Jordan Peele, 2019)

THEN
To the fair!

When the fair comes to Fultondale, 
you go. Line up in the parking lot 
between Jack’s & China 1. 
Funnel cake & popcorn cravings. 
Wisps of cotton candy red
in your mouth. You’re not afraid 
of portable rides. Watch out 
for your little sister.

NOW
To the movies! 

It’s fun to watch people 
in the dark. People pretending 
to be people. Big as the screen, 
small as the script: building
character. A black woman 
watches black girls watch 
each other in the dark. 
They are watching us. 

Do black girls live?

What will happen 
to black girls 
in a funhouse?

What will happen 
to black girls 
who are going

Downstairs, seeing themselves 
            Upstairs, freeing themselves 
                           Upstairs, greeting themselves
                                         Downstairs, beating themselves 

?  ?  ? 
They forgot us.

Jasmine Flowers is a poet, copywriter, and well-watered garden from Birmingham, AL. She received her BA in English from the University of Alabama. Her poems are published or forthcoming in giallo and Mineral Lit Mag. She still wonders if jasmine flowers are her favorites. Follow her on Twitter: @jas_flow.
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