LAUNDRY
BY NATACHI MEZ
hung hang
who hung like
clothes to dry
who taught
skin
never clean
who taught
to wash and wash
until wear tears
until worn out
until ashy
until white
until dead
I died and I arrived
at an oasis, all this moisture
even the cacti were dipped in shea butter
even the water drank itself
I died and I arrived
at an oasis and I sipped
until I became
undead
unwhite
unashy
unworn
unhung
unloosed ropes
they made for jumping now
and it ain’t just the babies skipping
but Black women who ain’t lost their groove
paradise gotta be intergenerational
filled with hands weathered
from massaging clothes in soapy water
filled with fingers that kiss the drying machine’s buttons
to begin a contained windstorm
my life span laundry cycle
laundromat make me bob my head
I bob my head for apples and Eve rises
wisdom between my teeth
God asks me how it tastes and I say
—God,
Like we weren’t unclean in the first place
Natachi Mez (she/her) is a Nigerian American writer, performer, and emcee from the Sacramento area in California. She is a graduate of Columbia University with a BA in Computer Science, and is currently a Business Program Manager, focusing on community building, communications, diversity, and design. You can find Natachi’s words featured or forthcoming in Interstellar Flight Press, Unplug Mag, Gumbo Magazine, Breadcrumbs Magazine, Write About Now, or on instagram @natachi.life.