1 Poem by Isabella Willms-Jones
A list of things I am good at
Pandan chiffon cake
New Zealand accents
Writing cards when people die
Making excuses for you
Saying she’s just tired bad day shouldn’t have wiped the table with a fresh yellow cloth should have
Used the blue one that was already by the sink but over and over you have said blue is not a kitchen color only yellow and white the blue
Is for the bathroom so is pink and orange is for getting bird shit and cobwebs off the outside furniture
I used to think I hated you because we’re Black and only white people treat their children as equals and
Look at all the crazy mess “creamy folk” get into
Still wonder if you’re like this on purpose or because you don’t know any better
One makes me want to steal from your purse like a reckless teenager the other quiets me
Sinks through me cold and heavy
A kind of loneliness I hope I’m never privy to
Pandan chiffon cake
New Zealand accents
Writing cards when people die
Making excuses for you
Saying she’s just tired bad day shouldn’t have wiped the table with a fresh yellow cloth should have
Used the blue one that was already by the sink but over and over you have said blue is not a kitchen color only yellow and white the blue
Is for the bathroom so is pink and orange is for getting bird shit and cobwebs off the outside furniture
I used to think I hated you because we’re Black and only white people treat their children as equals and
Look at all the crazy mess “creamy folk” get into
Still wonder if you’re like this on purpose or because you don’t know any better
One makes me want to steal from your purse like a reckless teenager the other quiets me
Sinks through me cold and heavy
A kind of loneliness I hope I’m never privy to
Isabella Willms-Jones is a German-Creole copywriter and poet based in Philadelphia. Her work has previously appeared in Hot Pink Magazine and Elmhurst University’s MiddleWestern Voice. She can be found on Instagram @bellaivanawj.
