the forgotten
how often will the same poets write about the leaves change?
how many times will we turn on the news to hear of a groundhogs head turning in february?
it is groundhog day after all
how often will we hear of cherry blossoms birthing in spring?
how many times will we hear of the first snowfall in the quiet of november?
it is winter after all
how many times will the news forget that a little black girl drank her own blood?
how often will her cries fall upon closed eyes and ears
from the same people that starved her?
she betrayed herself, after all
how many times?
how often?
how many times?
how often?
don’t you tire of this ending?
don’t you tire of poets writing of the leaves changing
the groundhog casting a shadow
the cherry blossoms birthing in spring
the whisper of the first snowfall
each year remains the same
and yet as sure as the greens turning to reds
the little black girl
drinks her blood in the dead of winter
to sustain herself till spring
thandiwe adofo is a multidisciplinary artist from New Jersey. Thandiwe has just graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor’s in English and is spending Fall 2024 to Spring 2025 attending six international artist residencies including Casa Uno, and Chateau d’Orquevaux. Her work “Osa” and “Tree of Life” is published in The Sterling Notes Journal at Howard University. She also has two publications coming in early 2025 at The Woven Tale Press and Hot Pot Magazine. Her short directorial debut film The Resolution came out in January 2024. She explores her passion for storytelling through film, creative writing, and abstract visual art while integrating the intersectionality of womanhood and blackness, tragedy, and trauma.
