The Wardrobe's Best Dressed: "Blues Triumphant" by Jonterri Gadson

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IN MY RUSH

The first time I saw myself

reflected in well water,

I became light. Now no one knows

how to hold me. A valley is nothing

but the lowest point in the curve

of a woman’s hip; a river—nothing—

if not her sway. Lightbearer translates

to Lucifer. I still want to be held. Hold me

like sound—in your throat,

with your breath, on your tongue.

I’ll be a river on purpose.

We’ll make a braid of our legs.

This selection comes from the book of poetry, “Blues Triumphant” by Jonterri Gadson, which is available to purchase here from YesYes Books.

Jonterri Gadson is the author of the chapbooks Interruptions (MIEL, 2014) and Pepper Girl (YesYes Books, 2012). She has received scholarships and fellowships from Cave Canem, Bread Loaf, University of Dayton and the University of Virginia where she received her MFA in Creative Writing. She is also a graduate of the Callaloo Creative Writing Workshop. Her poetry has appeared in Callaloo, Los Angeles Review, The Collagist, and other journals. She currently serves as Assistant Professor of Creative Writing/English at Bloomfield, College in New Jersey. Follow her on Twitter at @JaytotheTee.

librecht baker. Long Beach, CA native. Member of Dembrebrah West African Drum and Dance Ensemble. MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College. VONA/Voices and Lambda Literary Writer Retreat for Emerging LGBTQ Voices Fellow. Poetry is forthcoming in Writing the Walls Down: A Convergence of LGBTQ Voices (Trans-Genre Press) and is included in CHORUS: A Literary Mixtape (MTv Books).