F*ck / Sunflowers by Inua Ellams

Busy Being Black

My conversation this week is with artist, producer and educator malakaï sergeant. During the recording of our conversation, malakaï flagged the carceral geographies many of us have become so accustomed to – limiting and murderous as they can be. In the moment, I grabbed one of my favourite books of poetry, The Actual by Inua Ellams – an incisive, fiery and tender defence of Black liveliness. My favourite poem in the collection is "F*ck / Sunflowers", which speaks with such stunning heartbreak about the realities so many are forced to endure when robbed of the soil that could sustain us. With Inua’s permission, I’m reciting it for you today. Content warning: this poem infers death by suicide.

The Actual is published by and available from Penned in the Margins.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices