THE GILLETTE TOXIC MASCULINITY COMMERCIAL, AND THE BEST WE CAN BE – FOUR POEMS IN AN ESSAY Oluwakemi Amusan Introduction In January 2019, Gillette aired a commercial targeted at men. The commercial highlights toxic masculinity and asks men to re-consider their ideas of the best a man can be. It … More THE GILLETTE TOXIC MASCULINITY COMMERCIAL, AND THE BEST WE CAN BE – FOUR POEMS IN AN ESSAY »
I didn’t quite get it. Why would someone as strong and desirable as Courage ask to take me on a Picnic to the Special Land of Pleasure? I mean there were girls like Melody, with the sweet voice; Graceful, with the cat walk; Fun, with the zest for … More The Date With Courage »
WHEN THE WELL RUNS DRY A Poem by Kemi Amusan When the well runs dry and the airs take their leave Without the pretense and farce Your sponsors will suffer your ass to be whooped Your friends will turn to foes and your family will throw you to wolves When … More When The Well Runs Dry »
Call Me Not Mara! Call me not Mara, for though I may arrive with less than I went with; call me Naomi, because my experiences albeit painful, make the best manure for a richer life. Call me not bitterness, though my condition may be void of any sweetness; call … More Call Me Not Mara »
An Ode to Taurus A poem for Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) The princess may vanish but God saves the Queen Written by Oluwakemi Celina Amusan What Queen is Aries if she’s beholden to mars What Queen is Sagitta if she loves her Ptah The lioness might be Queen but she … More An Ode to Taurus »
Men in fields, men in courts behold your light A promise for your sores a balm for your wounds That daughter of the many breasted one She’s been here before she’s done that too When the new morning dawns and you welcome your sun Greet the stars of its absence … More That Daughter of the Many Breasted One by Kemi Amusan »
It was a scheme, my prince- ship the stake A slave in Ephesus, see how I fell Unsavory graceless and rich in pride Wasted spewed out unfit for kings A slave in Ephesus see how I fell It started in Smyrma, in company of fear For in Pergamum … More A Slave in Ephesus: A Lament of Vice and Consequences »
Krampus, Yule Dudes, Yule Cats. Its December and they are the least of our concerns… or so we think. We are more inclined towards saintly beings like the virging Mary, maybe some Joseph, and Jesus. Definitely Jesus. and nativity plays and shopping and gifting and carols and cooking, back to … More Mental Note for Next Holidays: How to Slay a Christmas Monster »
