SONGS OF SOLOMON 3
Red was my grandmother’s favorite color
Red is for rouge, rogue,
red like sacrifice
and scarlet shame
it’s flushed white (like ice ice baby).
I’ve been Genevieve, Betsy, Leslie, and
Barbara too.
Left at the all—
ter, for your benefit/
at my expense—
love ordained.
My beloved left me red
(Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is more delightful than wine. 2 1 )
Born reincarnation
(redemption)
and really the red that colors my veins.
(Daughters of Jerusalem,
I charge you:
do not arouse
or awaken
love until it so desires.)
____
Katie Marie Carlton is a weirdo black girl poet residing in Denver, CO. Her eke-name,
her mystic Sasha Fierce, is Ever-Lee G—in awe of the epic resilience of Ever Lee
Hairston and the strong women who flow through her own blood. Ever-Lee G’s poetry
indulges in obsessions, is radically truthful, icky and sexy. As a senior at the University
of Colorado at Denver, her major has shifted from musical theatre, to journalism, to
social work, to English education, and now creative writing to accommodate her
overwhelming love for connecting, sharing, and empathizing that drew her down each
academic path. Busy changing her mind, you can’t read her work any where but her
journals and professors’ Dropboxes yet. She is currently at work on her first full
collection, Yellow Fever, and illustrating a picture book. You can connect with her on
Instagram @km_carlton where she posts her face, photography, mood boards, and
woo-woo ponderings. Upcoming, you read more from her at ever-lee.com.
Featured image by Eberhard Grossgasteiger
