by Nnenna Loveth
Borrowing lyrics from The Weekend by SZA
And she’s over there talkin’ ‘bout–
My man is my man, is your man
heard it’s her man too.
Can you believe it?
My baby?
I think actually the fuq not.
Hell yeah, I punched that bitch.
Left her ass cryin’ on the outside
of the club where she belong.
Outside of a job to match her outside mind.
I mean, was I not clear?
That one is mine.
And yeah, yeah,
You can’t own a person.
And they don’t belong to you.
Okay?
They may not belong to me but our time did.
All the care I put into them does.
The life we crafted together does
And will.
And I understand
That people cheat because they want to.
Okay.
But that’s me and they business.
I woulda’ left her ass alone.
But then she came to me talkin’
I just keep [them] satisfied through the weekend
You like nine to five, I’m the weekend
Like, the fuq?
At that point it was just getting disrespectful.
If anyone’s the weekend
I’M the weekend.
I am the joy
the play
the sanctuary
from a long week
the Sunday morning task
signaled with R&B smooth.
I am a joyful work.
It is a gift to love me.
To be loved by me.
And I tried to leave that bitch alone.
Even after she decided to fuq on someone
who don’t belong to her.
Even tried to ignore her desperate
cause I know that side of the mirror too.
Know what it’s like to be fallin’ all over love.
To be wanting. Constantly.
To know what they need and hope
that giving it makes them need you back.
I know that side of the mirror.
And tried to be kind to the reflection.
I tried not to break my fingers on the glass.
But then she called me nine to five.
Called the work of loving me outside its’ name
Something other than what it is– a gift.
She saw me standing in the rain
holding my heart and decided
to roll by just to splash me with the dirt
from the concrete.
And that was just too damn much.
Broke my pride.
So I broke her nose.
Sarah “Nnenna Loveth” Umelo Uzoma Nwafor (they/she) is an Igbo lesbian poet, performer, and facilitator. Their work explores Black g*rlhood, Black queerness, Igbo Cosmology, Sensual play and rituals of healing. Nnenna published their debut chapbook, Already Knew You Were Coming, with Game Over Books in January of 2022 and has also been featured on Button Poetry, WBUR’s ARTery, VIBEs Magazine, and Ujima #Wire. When Nnenna is not writing, they are somewhere being romanced by the intensity of life. Please follow their work on IG @pleasure.as.compass or at pleasurearthealing.com.