Samantha CC

Return to Issue 12

BODY LESS

To be body less
To be disembodied
To transcend the grip of the body
I dreamed that I was powerful through leaving the systems of power that a body entails
I was weightless for a second I was free
Free from the disruption that a body can bring
But I looked down and saw her there
My body that is
All that brown and softness
The life bearing muscles fully relaxed
I reflect on all the touches
What was transmitted
What was given
And taken
And Received
And what the flesh can manifest
The body becomes gift, not burden
Dropping back in I’m immersed in my softness
Rolling through the pain and pleasure of touch as the day starts
I know I must live the heaviness if I want the rest
And when I am unwound I walk near the sea that we came from
Letting play unfold in rhythm with the waves
Your face is from my mother’s mother
The heaviness of history taught her that a woman must stay light
But she spoke to me of Garvey and dark skinned kings
She was born near the sea
I imagine her afloat, salt water
Sucking on a mango seed
As my feet transgress the sand
My hands collect what dances in my eye
A treasure trove of yellows, pinks, and greens
Hard and smoothe in my curious hands
And you, soft and heavy on my breast

Samantha CC is a performance artist, writer and filmmaker from Brooklyn, NY. She is a current
Culture Push Fellow. Through each medium that she utilizes, her work strives to translate
personal journeys into poetic symbols and tones. She often explores themes such as alienation,
Blackness, bodily anxiety, ritual, and fantasy as a radical space. She has performed at spaces
such as Roulette Intermedium, Outpost Artists Resources, Untitled Space, and Coaxial Arts
Foundation.