Recenter Press
  • 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

to know God (know the bees)

BY TAYLAR S. ENLOW.


  1.  pretend this is Ayiti,
    remember
    what your father taught
    you of their melody, the way
    he sang you a story
    of Bondye--told you
    that the buzzing was another
    way to know the Spirit, that their
    presence was a holy thing, that
    it signified sanctity, a sacred
    land, and no one could take that
    ​away.​​
  2.  imagine that this is Brazil,
    that you serve the hungry
    spirits, they call out
    in rippling waters, in the wind
    clinging to your head. the first thing
    you learn is that they all love
    honey. the second, that you must taste
    it too. you begin
    with your body, and hold
    balance in your hands. offer
    the nectar as a gift, savor
    the sweetness, and
    worship from both altars
    at once.

  3. dream of Ethiopia,
    ​
    and rites of 900 years.
    here, they have given
    you gifts, recognized
    sovereignty, restored
    a people and reformed
    communion through combs of
    honey. in Lalibela they hum
    to heal, build homes inside
    ancient church walls, chant
    a hallowed harmony, remember
    the angels, and a God who has
    not forgotten.​​

when I learned the land of my people

BY TAYLAR S. ENLOW.


​I learned another name for God
was sitting in the soil. all along, I’d been just handfuls of earth
away from reclaiming it, learned that heaven might be
a place on Earth, that lies just across
the pond and if I could shed my honey tone-d
raincoat and jump in, I might see
God’s face welcoming me, or whomever decides
to show up that day, realized that God was akin
to the blood I gave the pavement each time I scrapped my knee, or
the sweat that chased lines down my copper skin in july.
unpacking grief and trying timidly to trace the lines
of a map with a finger and makeshift hope, I found the only thing
standing between God and me was a sign
which read: no swimming.

Taylar Shirley Enlow is a Philadelphia born and based creator and storyteller. Through the mediums of poetry and lyrical prose, photography, and energy work, she draws from the inspiration of her Africana heritage to honor the experiences of Africana people through the practices of artistic alchemy and archivism. She is also the founder of the SONKU Collective, a creative and collective space for Black and POC artists, which sits at the intersections of collective based art and holistic healing.  She can be found at  taylarenlow.com  and on Instagram @taylarshirley.
  • 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