Meet Shani Carrington.

Shani Carrington is a 22 year old, black, first generation American, born and raised in Philadelphia. Having recently graduated from Arcadia University with a BA in English literature and a minor in Pan-African studies, she is currently taking a gap year before attending law school next fall. As a poet, she has been writing seriously for 9 years and performing at small open mics and poetry shows for 6. Influenced by a perspective shaped by Barbadian parents and an inner city upbringing, her work often revolves around the state of blackness across the diaspora, the complexities of love, and the way we as humans interact with one another. When not writing, she enjoys spending time with friends, watching slam poetry videos on YouTube, playing with her black kitten Spring, and drinking tea.

Social Media Links:

Instagram – @peaceloveandpoetry

Snapchat – thepoetafrodite

Twitter – @poetic_devices

Pinterest – Shani Carrington

Blog (co-creator) – www.aloeandamethyst.org

The Poem.

In This One, The Bus Stop Becomes a Coven

He spots the star hanging from a
Black ribbon,
Tied gently around my throat
Like the fingers of a reluctant shadow.
And he asks
“Are you a witch?”
And I can’t hide the giggle
That whispers up out of my lungs
Casting a spell on him,
With the sudden appearance
Of my generous dimples.

I reply ‘no’

With more confidence in my answer

Than I truly own,

For what is a witch but

Magic with a mouth

And I just made a boy jaywalk

Without looking both ways

As I waited for the bus

While sipping on a neon blue lemonade.

What else would you call that

But magic?