Who am I by Miko Reed

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Who am I

Caramel thickness rich with layers of brown agave
Indigenous- my story is
Nampeyo’s Legacy fusing red clay with love
Serendipitous
My story is locs of pain
Breaking free from resistance
Authentic
It’s written on skyscrapers hidden below sea level
Unfinished
It’s passed down thru slaves and their masters
Aboriginal
But mostly slaves that descended from masters
My story- they’ve mastered
It’s somewhere between finishing and starting
It’s an anomaly
You see my story is beautiful and ugly
It’s dichotomous
It’s strong and confusing
Like cancer in remission
It’s my mamas tears
It’s my daughters eyes
My story is pedagogical
It’s my sons fears
It’s still being written
It’s a juxtaposition
Where I have planted
But it is here
My story is here
Where I am blooming

Miko Reed is a native Washingtonian, retired Army Master Sergeant, and has been writing poetry for over 20 years. She is an author, public speaker, curator and host of 3 open mics throughout the DMV. Miko completed her Executive Masters in Leadership from Georgetown University in 2019, started her company Have A Voice, LLC,  to showcase other poets in 2020 and became an Amazon bestseller of her book, “Eggshells In Soft Black Hands,” in August 2021. She has also had her poetry published in an international anthology, “Now that you are Gone From This World,” and in various online publications to include, The Journal of Expressive Writing, both in 2022. Not only is Miko a poet, she also writes short stories and has recently been published in an online blog, Sad Girls Club. She also completed her second book, a novelette of fiction, titled “Pandemic- Suburban Women,” in the Fall of 2022. Miko is working on her 3rd book of poetry and prose titled, “Pain & Prosecco,” slated for completion late August 2023 and is a contributor to another anthology, Positively Purposeful Poetry…, slated for completion Spring 2024. She is in her third year at Johns Hopkins University, pursuing a second Graduate degree, a Masters of Arts in Writing. Miko is a mom of two beautiful kids, Madison and Mason, and they all live in Bowie Md.

These poems were supported by DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of Latino Affairs and through a retreat for Afro-Latin poets produced April 15, 2023 by Day Eight, directed by Jeffrey Banks and Maritza Rivera.

Image: https://statemuseum.arizona.edu/online-exhibit/nampeyo-showcase

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