he offered money
which made him kinder than most
his voice hollow and indistinct, owing,
as i believe, to artificial teeth
which is probably why he wanted mine
the doctor didn’t care
to give me anesthesia
he said pain wasn’t unusual for mine
or my race
i know you see the hollow man
with a hollow voice leading hollow people
on stolen land with us the stolen people
speaking with the master’s tongue
and slave’s teeth
Dilinna Ugochukwu (he/they) is a Black writer from Lancaster, CA. He loves to watch movies and eat jollof rice. You can find him on Instagram @dilinnna