Poem by Laurinda Lind & Artwork by Tamika Heard
Keyhole
As a kid I never believed
what I heard about bodies,
though I knew girls got
giddy under the covers,
boys were baring down
to the skin. What wild
sent my cousins off
in secret as teens, also
set them on fire? Fifteen
is a fine time to find it
but I didn’t light up for
a long time. Followed
my mind around waiting
to wake from all the way in
with each nerve and cell in its
swirling cyclone but just out of
reach, as if the only way to walk
into the eye was alone.
Laurinda Lind lives in New York’s North Country. Her work has been published in Blue Earth Review, New American Writing, Paterson Literary Review, and Spillway; also in anthologies Visiting Bob: Poems Inspired by the Life and Work of Bob Dylan (New Rivers Press), What I Hear When Not Listening: Best of The Poetry Shack & Fiction, Vol. I (Sonic Boom), and Civilization in Crisis (FootHills Publishing). She is a Keats-Shelley Prize winner and Best of the Net nominee.
Tamika Heard is a textile artist, curator and community-based social activist. Since receiving a B.A. in Art Studies, she has continued independent study and community activism. Her most recent service was to the low-income community of Durham NC, where for 2 years she was the Creative Director for a sewing camp. She is currently exercising her Artist Managerial skills, helping artists of color secure space in areas exclusive of them. “Identity”, “Love Contradicks” and “Peace Within” were created using mixed media fabric, paper, paint and wax on 4″x 5″ wood.