So uji him
He no moa shame
Everytime show up at family gatherings
Ack like everyting all good
But if you look everybody’s face
Side eye kine
So dey no catch you
So your questioning eyes
No make dem feel shame
You goin see
Dey know
Everybody know
From da smallest baby
To da oldest no moa teet tutu
Dey know he stay da kine
But dey no do shit
I dunno why
Jus see
But no look
Jus pretend
He not deah
He circles da pahty
Like a fuckin shark
Laughing
Making jokes
Side eyeing us
His stink ass ano fills da space
Leaving no room fo anyone to breathe
To be brave
Stealing our voices
He no moa shame
We no moa balls
So uji him
He was li dat
From small keed time
Aunties whispah
His faddah made him li dat
Uncle A was da original uji man
Wat da hell
Dat’s some fucked up shit
But you know wat is moa worse
Even den
People knew
But neva do shit
Same ol
Same ol
So uji him
But jus wait
One day
I goin buss his uji ass
One day
If he stand or sit too close
All up in my space
If he try fo give me money
Fo no reason
If he touch my ass, chichis, or nan
One moa time
“By accident”
I goin fuck him up
I goin call him out on his bullshit
In front of everybody
EVERY TIME
I not goin let him hide in plain sight
I goin steal his laughtah
I goin remind everybody
Make sure everybody know
How uji he is
Wow – this is such an impactful piece. The way it navigated through the emotions and perspectives involved in abuse took me on a journey through familiar feelings of anger, sadness and numbness that I have felt when hearing friend’s and family’s stories like this. Thank you for giving a space to feel and process that all through words; it’s an uncomfortable but necessary homage. Mahalo.
I can’t be the only one overwhelmed with feelings of anger and frustration after reading this poem. Does every family have an Uncle Uji that no one confronts? Maybe this poem is finally an accusation not only against Uncle Uji but against us for not doing anything – for letting him live after destroying the lives of the innocent. I love this poem because of its truth spoken in the language of and for the victims.