sunday night in strands of 4c

J.C. Otiono

Two fingers latch ona proud pebble.How far can I stretch itbefore my fingers stiffen?How long until it curls into itself?digging at its core,hardening the longer I leave it out exposedFlush tight to nape of neckyou barely work to swallowthe slick of fingersPressing into old achesUrging blood to the surfaceLet tongue steamroll knotsTo the cracked exhaleof strand breakingAs I cradle neglected partsthat make letting go so painful,You remind me to invite onlythe gentlest close to us:for we grew into our sprawlfrom care, not brawnthis hairitage unravelsstrands of 4CYour magic is terrible:trailing kisses down my back,and soon falling to my feet,you too weather me undonecast adrift amongst the sheaTo have me at your beck and napeSuch tenderness you demand——

[to myself: a poem about the eroticism of 4c hair. Raw 4c hair has been characterized as hard, disrespectful, and unfeminine. I fully believe this is due to racism. In this poem I wanted to depict 4c hair as something else – the most sensitive, the most sensual, and the most needing of gentleness…]

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J.C. Otiono (she/they) is a queer Naija-American writer from Boston, MA. She has been published in ALOCASIA and its printed anthology, 99 queer writers on plants and nature, and, luckily, in just femme and dandy. In her free time, she enjoys jigsaw puzzles, reading, and listening to music. She hopes her writing can go the distance.

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just femme + dandy is a media organization and platform for and by the LGBTQIA+ community on fashion. We offer a space in the fashion, media, literary, and arts world that previously didn’t exist, and aim to celebrate the queer, trans, non-binary, and intersex community, who have long since coded ourselves with how we adorn and dress our bodies when it has been dangerous to identify solely with words. Until recently, we could only find a handful of models within popular culture and the public imagination to inform our own aesthetic choices, and so the styles (and art) we don and make operate as a patchwork quilt, collaged together with vintage and thrift store finds, our sister or mother’s lipstick and gowns, our father’s neckties and waistcoats.

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