Recenter Press
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  • Books
    • Rest of US by Richard Hamilton
    • evening primroses by Emma Loomis-Amrhein
    • Profit | Prophet by Patrick Blagrave
    • To Hold Your Moss-Covered Heart by Schuyler Peck
    • The Good House & The Bad House by Doe Parker
    • The Road Is Long & Beautiful by Terra Oliveira
    • And Still To Sleep by Terra Oliveira
    • An Old Blue Light by Terra Oliveira
    • Processes: A Meditation by Terra Oliveira
  • Journal
    • Issue Four: Fall 2020
    • Issue Three: Spring 2020
    • Issue Two: Fall 2019
    • Issue One: Spring 2019
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A Few Nights Under the Moonlight in Bahia

BY DORIANA DIAZ.


the first night/on the terrace at dusk overlooking the Salvador streets/we spoke of the women in white and
voodoo/we spoke of home/and the places we mistakenly tried to build one in/we spoke of Cape Town
where she grew up/tired and tender/we held hands tightly/made a promise that we would return to this
land/and grow old here together/eventually evaporate into the sky/die holy in a place where/they would
find us/one morning/tucked gently in our beds/still smiling.

under the moonlight a few days after/we all found our feet prancing right on the cusp of/where the ocean
meets the sand/pulling our ankles out into the current/the water kissed every crevice of our skin/we
floated out into the emptiness/skin shining like the dust from the sun/in the deepest part/we bounced with
the weight of the waves/we watched the flesh on the shoreline/dance/giggle/drink/make love to the night.

one evening/in the middle of it all/there was a twitch/a sting and then a burning that crept its way
through/every blood vessel/toes curling/at how my body needed to devour itself/scrape away the bits
and pieces of decay I brought along with me/the land opened its womb/as I drifted closer to sleep/the
nights rolled over themselves/into flashes/of uncut memories/leaking/specs of gold/onto my eyelids.
​
on our last night/all us black women let our thighs get angry/at the sound of bangodrums/our mouths
dripping of slurs and love songs/our hips grinding as we cried sweet relief/we knew we had no more
blood to lose/under the blowing banyan trees we laughed so hard our teeth/fell out at the roots/our bones
fused together/we became a carnival/of shimmering skin/black in beauty/under the moonlight/the stars
could have seen us smile.

Doriana is a Philadelphia based storyteller. She released her first self published book of prose entitled Mami Calls Me Gabriella in October of 2018. Her writing encompasses her personal experiences being an Afro-Latina and the complexities of her womanhood. She writes to enhance her understanding of self in every phase, chapter and dimension. You can follow her on Instagram @bydorianadiaz.
  • About
  • Books
    • Rest of US by Richard Hamilton
    • evening primroses by Emma Loomis-Amrhein
    • Profit | Prophet by Patrick Blagrave
    • To Hold Your Moss-Covered Heart by Schuyler Peck
    • The Good House & The Bad House by Doe Parker
    • The Road Is Long & Beautiful by Terra Oliveira
    • And Still To Sleep by Terra Oliveira
    • An Old Blue Light by Terra Oliveira
    • Processes: A Meditation by Terra Oliveira
  • Journal
    • Issue Four: Fall 2020
    • Issue Three: Spring 2020
    • Issue Two: Fall 2019
    • Issue One: Spring 2019
  • Interviews