Space
TYPE
PoemSpace by Sharan Hunjan
Why are you so quiet
Why do you shrink like you don’t belong
This space is not big enough to hold you
You and me and them and you, you
Shrink
Shrink like a lotus flower lost
In a dead spring
Lost and you shrink
This space is not for you
They ask
Why are you so quiet
Why have you learnt from others
From unsaid unmoving words
That you should sit quietly
Wait your turn
Let others take that space
Did no one tell you
Space is infinite
Space is yours for the taking
Space is a void
It is a boundless bountiful beautiful space
Where the stars dust and twist and turn
In their space so take your time
Quiet brown girl
It is not white
Despite what they might make you think
In fact, it is black
In this dark matter
Of space
Take it and run
Run or jump or shout or fly
See how far you can this take space
And you will see that when you close your eyes
The dark space is there
Is mine
Is yours
Is ours
Stand
Shoulders back
Face forward
Eyes fixed like dark planets
Revolving evolving
Involving you
Take this space
It is yours.
Own it.
© Sharan Hunjan, from SLAM! You’re Gonna Wanna Hear This, chosen by Nikita Gill, Macmillan, 2020