From the Anthology
Black Women Coping in Clevelandby Michelle Sanders
Ohio’s parks are green fantasies that wraps everyone in nature’s warmth
The trees are lush and teeming with hues of browns and greens
They tower well into what my eyes perceive as clouds
I never imagined that serenity could exist here
That I could sit in nature and not be aware of my brown skin
People run by me
Breathing hard but steady
Others breathing soft and confidently
My eyes close and I just exist where existing is allowed
This feeling is transient and what follows is jarring
And I am forced into remembering that I am somewhere between human and invisible
Belonging nowhere but everywhere
I've been told that I need to leave Cleveland
That things will be better elsewhere
But I am reminded by my bathroom mirror
That my blackness is either overvalued or undervalued, fetishized or spat on,
objectionable or namelessly worshiped all at the same time.
And that Cleveland is just a representation of America
And I am not of America nor Cleveland
Author Bio
Michelle Sanders is a Detroit native who has been living in Cleveland for 9 years. Professionally, she works as a Technical Fashion Designer for a local company within the city. In her free time, she writes and creates art that examines ethnicity, trauma, and introspection.
