Madison ‘Mocha’ Hunter, a Detroit, MI, native, is one-eighth of Mobile, AL’s award-winning poetry troupe “Powerlines Poetry,” where she is widely known as the spoken word artist “DictionKanari”. She has had the privilege of interviewing literary all-stars Dr. Roxane Gay, Adrian Matejka, and Dr. Jericho Brown. Her work has appeared in Watershed Voice, You Might Need To Hear This, and Oracle Fine Arts Review. Mocha is pro canceled plans, sunsets, charcuterie boards, and keeping the Sabbath. When she isn’t creating, she’s collecting memories with friends, family, and even enemies as well as reading, roller skating (or some rhythmic attempt to stay in gravity’s good graces), vacationing, vinyl record hunting, tasting culture and critiquing cuisine in the gritty and glorious city of Memphis; it is also in this great city that she is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing along with a certificate in African American Literature. Follow Madison on her website and on Instagram and Twitter.
Live, My Dearest.
Then, Burn Em Alive.
for Mia
Firecrackers and fuzzy slippers are the soul of you. Soft sonder that lullabies my dented soup can of a mind always longing to be warmed. Remain stove burner.
There is unlimited gold in salsaing with the Savior. Remember to feel for the commands of His heart, not just gaze at the glory of His hips. Rest in rhythm.
Your forgetfulness is not failure. Just fear, time, and false gods, dog walking your dome away from clarity. Release this rebuke.
Mississippi burns hotter than a hopeless hog roasting at a luau knowing a woman made of magnolias owns herself, not the limbs. Raise your glass.
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Torch Literary Arts is a 501(c)3 nonprofit established to publish and promote creative writing by Black women. We publish contemporary writing by experienced and emerging writers alike. TORCH has featured work by Colleen J. McElroy, Tayari Jones, Sharon Bridgforth, Crystal Wilkinson, Patricia Smith, Natasha Trethewey, Elizabeth Alexander, and others. Programs include the Wildfire Reading Series, writing workshops, and retreats.