my mother asks the pronouns of my crush as a courtesy, knowing which one she prefers. this gives her hope, girlchildren to aspire to nevertheless a persistent stinging, ringing smoke above the vibrations of the words we speak to one another. i don’t kiss using the same tongue i confess in, my teeth always chattering […]
Ashia Ajani
Ashia Ajani (they/she) is a Black storyteller and environmental educator originally from Denver, CO, Queen City of the Plains and the unceded territory of the Cheyenne, Ute, Arapahoe and Comanche peoples. She is an environmental justice educator with Mycelium Youth Network and co-poetry editor of The Hopper Literary Magazine. They have been published in Frontier Poetry, Exposition Review, Foglifter Press, Them.us and Sierra Magazine, among others. Follow their work at ashiaajani.com.