"Where Do We Go From Here?"
By Chloé Bramble
Poetry and collage
Writing is my first love and collage my most recent. I write poetry to make sense of (or attempt to, at least) the world and how I interact with it. Collage nurtures my inner child and adds a visual element that amplifies my voice. This work is a small part of me trying to process my most recent trip home and how much my home had changed because I had changed. My trip left me wondering where I can rest my head as queer and trans Antiguan, if not in my own bed. Much of my creative non-fiction work are musings on my Blackness, sexuality, gender, religious trauma, magic and rage. I hope to connect with others that have feelings they struggle to put into words and create a space to share our experiences.
Where Do We Go From Here
by Chloé Bramble
I went home
I went home and it felt strange
I went home and it felt like I shouldn’t have been there
I knew I tasted different this time
But not so much that I would be spit out
It hurt
But the land held me
I could feel my ancestors warm love through the sand
But the living
They gave me the chills
And now
Now
Where is home?
Not here
I’m told I have to make a safe space
I have to make a home
For myself and others like me that have been spit out
Because we are medicine
I shouldn’t have to make space
That space should already exist
It did
We were taken then told we were wrong
That everything we knew
Everything we held to
Everything that was sacred
Was wrong wrong wrong
The future I dream of
I can’t see clearly
But I am trying to build a home
A true home
Where the land and the people meet
And they both smile
They hold me and love me
Bio
Chloé Bramble (she/they) is an emerging Afro-Caribbean artist from the beautiful island of Wadadli. They settled in K'jipuktuk in 2011 and have since made their second home there. She is most confident in her written art but also dabbles in singing, beeswax candles and textile art. Chloé is an active community member and enjoys teaming up with friends to create closed space programming and events for queer and trans people of colour. They currently live with their partner, two cats and snake.