the imaginary smell of marijuana
brown skin 

loud music
brown skin

cell phones
brown skin 

black women
brown skin 

broken taillights
brown skin

people who follow directions
brown skin 

people who don’t follow directions
brown skin

dreadlocks
attached to brown body

arizona teas and skittles
in brown hand 

loose cigarettes
sold by brown man

civil rights
for brown people

the truth

*an earlier version of this piece appeared in Zoetic Press in 2017

Ashley Elizabeth (she/her) is a writing consultant, teacher, and poet. Her works have appeared in SWWIM, Memoir Mixtapes, and Zoetic Press, among others. Her chapbook, you were supposed to be a friend, is available at Nightingale & Sparrow (June 2020). When Ashley isn't serving as assistant editor at Sundress Publications or working as a member of the Estuary Collective, she habitually posts on Twitter and Instagram (@ae_thepoet). She lives in Baltimore, MD with her partner and hopefully soon a few furry friends.