Sexy Baby Complex
Hairless and wearing symbols of fertility I call Raven on the West Side; “Isn’t a shame I’m making all of this Money?” It started when I was Eighteen. I just turned 21 underneath the Big Dipper. I want to be a stripper. This work is saddest when I am online and they call me, “Sexy baby.” Because to my mother I am still a Baby.
But I gather up my best red lingerie. I become a stripper anyway. Another Black hole under the White stars.
But I gather up my best red lingerie. I become a stripper anyway. Another Black hole under the White stars.
Sept / Oct 2023
Naila is an aspiring author currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in English at the University of Illinois at Springfield. She is currently published in the 2022 edition of the Colorism Healing Writing Contest anthology, the Backchannels 2023 Fiction Prize, Ebony Tomatoes Collective, and Free the Verse. Previously, she has acted as project assistant and lead designer for both the 2021 and 2022 Colorism Healing Writing Contest anthologies. Currently, she is editor-in-chief at the UIS Observer, president of the Queer Student Ambassador Program, and is in the running to become vice president of the Women of Color Initiative. She specializes in poetry and flash fiction and aspires to tell stories on uncharted subjects and perspectives.
Art: Cam Pietralunga. Maya. Acrylic on canvas.