A Tiny Ode to Chubbiness by EL Kamaal

—for AM Mariam

Your thick thighs. Your full waist.

Your bright eyes. Your round face.—

That you walk around the streets,

Unashamed of the penetrating eyes,

Unafraid of words that hit hard as punch

In the face, and straight, through

The basement of the soul—

Are nothing but the true bodement

Of being big, beautiful, and bold

Like everything else that is

Big, beautiful, and bold.

EL Kamaal is a Nigerian poet and writer. His work has appeared or forthcoming in Hominum Journal, Clover and White, Global Poemic, Lumiere Review, Wend Poetry, Giallo Lit, Cultural Weekly, and elsewhere. He was shortlisted for the 2020 Alpine Fellowship Academic Writing Prize.

Twitter: @ellipziz

Instagram: @ellipzizs