MAYA WILLIAMS
Image by Leah Sophia Dworkin
Current Triggers
Black girl
is depressed.
Black people
call depression "white" to fit only one solid banner.
Black girl
realizes why that is with recent events.
Japanese man
hangs by a noose in Suicide Forest.
White American boy
makes commodity off of Japanese man’s misery under the guise of
suicide prevention awareness.
White American boy
takes time off to "reflect" on harmful impact of "good intentions."
White American boy
is trending more than those who work in
suicide prevention awareness.
White liberal reporters
shout the song of "mental instability" to debunk despicable
white man’s right to office.
White liberal reporters
forget how similar the record plays for other
white men who commit acts of violence.
White celebrities’ suicides
are trending on social media.
Editor
asks black girl to write about them
while they are still trending.
Black girl
wonders why they should be trending in the first place.
Black girl
wonders why her triggers matter only when they’re trending.
Black girl
wonders why her triggers are more digestible from
white people’s mouths.
Black girl
realizes why she is writing about death again.
Black girl
has trouble coming to terms with death
reviving in her work whether she likes it or not.
is depressed.
Black people
call depression "white" to fit only one solid banner.
Black girl
realizes why that is with recent events.
Japanese man
hangs by a noose in Suicide Forest.
White American boy
makes commodity off of Japanese man’s misery under the guise of
suicide prevention awareness.
White American boy
takes time off to "reflect" on harmful impact of "good intentions."
White American boy
is trending more than those who work in
suicide prevention awareness.
White liberal reporters
shout the song of "mental instability" to debunk despicable
white man’s right to office.
White liberal reporters
forget how similar the record plays for other
white men who commit acts of violence.
White celebrities’ suicides
are trending on social media.
Editor
asks black girl to write about them
while they are still trending.
Black girl
wonders why they should be trending in the first place.
Black girl
wonders why her triggers matter only when they’re trending.
Black girl
wonders why her triggers are more digestible from
white people’s mouths.
Black girl
realizes why she is writing about death again.
Black girl
has trouble coming to terms with death
reviving in her work whether she likes it or not.
MAYA WILLIAMS is a poet residing in Portland, Maine. She has had her poetry published in online spaces such as AltFem, The Tempest, and INTER. She has a Masters in Social Work and Certificate in Applied Arts & Social Justice. Find her on twitter and instagram @emmdubb16.