LIP BLOOD: stories of fire and water

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My lips are a place of deep conditioning
My full Black lips
So much less perfect than my white father’s
So much uglier than those of my white cousins
I love them now
But once they were a psychic scar

At age ten I learned to hold them pursed
Like a precocious supermodel
I still do this
Conditioning cuts deep

But now I sit before my fire vessel
Raging flame surrounded by a sea of water
I feel my lips vibrate with fire
I feel my lip blood striving for liberation
Reverberating with imagination
Breaking the chains seeking emancipation

Lips pulsate with fire and water
Registering the world’s vibrations
Awakening me to my magic
Awakening me to the tantric

I throw off layers of shame
Moving into waters of acceptance
Seeking spiritual repentance
Burning with embers of resistance

Over the past week
I have navigated waters of mania
I have struggled with balance
Struggled not to create crisis
Struggled to contain my fire
Failing to avoid unnecessary pain
Forcing those who love me to do damage control

Lip blood has been an omen
Warning me of catastrophe
Warning me of my dangerous impulses
Alerting me to tantric potential
Reimagining duality within each moment

This is a story of fire and water
A story of frenetic extremes
Psychic infernos tamed by mighty tides
Psychic growth deep within my mind

I shed my deep conditioning
Awakening to a reality beyond white supremacy
Potent lip blood pulsating with liberation
Conjuring sacred waters of resistance and salvation
Resonating and vibrating
Opening a portal to the divine

–BYPO PHOENIX c)2023