T H E   E X T R A - O R D I N A R Y

O B J E C T

Natasha Ruwona

the presentation of me

that you  constantly see

a daguerreotype,

a stereotype,

but never your type.

when black bodies

became no bodies

became everybody’s

but their own,

when they’re depicted

merely through

stick and stone,

but never upon a throne

a symbol of sex

thrust upon this object

to rape and to own

bodies constantly on loan -

from picasso’s muse

to human zoos

forever in use

as they pick and choose

now you’re a prop

forming the back drop  

while he raps his song

was that short for property

all along?

‘can i touch your hair?’

i feel soo rare!

is it really fair?

so then why do you stare?

how did the jenner/kardashian form

become the celebrated norm?

when comments about black lips

lead to comments about black hips

while the body strips

a critique of genetics,

a conversation about eugenics.

bodies within a cage

no matter their age,

presented upon a stage.