The Wardrobe's Best Dressed: twelve ways to occupy my body by sloane angelou

This selection, chosen by guest editor H.V. Cramond, is from twelve ways to occupy my body by sloane angelou (kith books).

did my mother tell you
to close your legs while sitting down
she did not tell me
because i am not a girl

so why are my legs closed
and my eyes open
yet you keep my mouth silent
as if, if the world finds out who i am
they will burn down pillars to kill

sometimes i forget what humans feel like inside me
so i find an eager thick flesh
to keep my legs open.

sloane angelou is a Multidimensional storyteller & writer of west african origin, passionate about learning of human existence by interrogating human experiences. They exist in liminal spaces.

H.V. Cramond holds an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and was the founding Poetry Editor of Requited Journal for 10 years. In 2018, she helped pass the Survivor’s Bill of Rights in Illinois as an organizer for Rise. Read more of her writing on her website.