CARINA SOLIS
brown girl walking
an ode to Ruby Bridges.
say i’m on the / same
trajectory as grandaddy /
say i need to / pick myself
neat. & tidy / i’m a st. francis
preparatory girl, you know / i braid my
hair into pigtails / i starch my
tie / clean, tie it into a sidewalk pigeon
and melt / with the gutters, because
we’re the same / soul, you know.
that’s me / walking / a little
nigga girl with / one foot
tripping the next. / i’m a red
rooster in a field / that’s what
granddaddy says / he’s a
veteran / he says. i’m
late now, i know, for grief / but
i’m still here.
Carina Solis is an African-American writer from Georgia. Her work has been recognized in Teen Ink, the Ice Lolly Review, the National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, the Georgia River of Words, and the New York Times Summer Reading Contest, among others. She is also an editor at Polyphony Lit, an intern at Young Eager Writers, and a mentee at Ellipsis Writing. She is fifteen years old.