Home is soft hands 

and dark knuckles,

wide button noses 

The bathroom is full of 

thick, matted curls that 

scatter the sink and stick 

to the shower.  Spilled 

 cocoa colored concealer,

(my sister’s savings)

ruby lipstick, imported black 

soap contour white porcelain 

with patches and smears

almost as deep as her skin

A cluttered, colored sort 

of warmth.

Simisola Fagbemi | simisola.fagbemi@yale.edu

SIMISOLA FAGBEMI