Once I was green and tall. I sowed seeds and nurtured crops into full grown fruits. I lived among my own. We didn’t speak much because we didn’t need to. We loved and did for ourselves and each other in a reciprocal kind of way. I never wanted to leave but I closed my eyes one night and woke up on a planet they called Earth.
Once I was a fish. And I loved bubbles. I swam and swam and knew nothing but the water. But even the many colours of the sea grew boring. So I did what anyone in my position would do and I grew legs.
Once I was a cat. I spent my days soaking in the sun, making my own schedule. Living any which way I pleased. I lived in peace and watched the wind toy with the birds. But sitting watching grew boring in time and I decided it was time to be a part of the world. I watched my masters come and go and wanted to be just like them.
Once I was a rhino. I used to fight and run with my crash. We saw the sky and loved the trees. We knew the land like it was a part of us. Then I met my past masters again. They surrounded us and forced us into boxes. They took our horns and left us for dead. After I watched my family die I vowed never to be below these so called masters again.
Once I was a dancer, as free as the wind. But hungry and dancing for coins on the street. I loved to dance but hated the hustle. My art was undervalued and I suffered the consequences. I thought that being a human would be easy.
Once I was a mother. I had many kids and spent my life running around their worlds. It was a marvellous, thankless job. I held everything up. I held everything together. Then I figured it was time for a break.
Once I was a selfish child. I needed for nothing and I wanted for everything. There was no satiating my appetite. I stumbled in and out of love and cursed the sky a million times more than I thanked it. I begged for answers to questions it seemed no one was asking and I knew it was time to move on. I had come and suffered. I had seen all I needed to. This planet, these people weren’t ready. I called home and flew away, deciding once and for all to leave those beings alone.
Jam Bridgett (they/she) is a queer student, visual artist and writer of Afro-Jamaican descent in Toronto. They are interested in diaspora, gender, race, sexuality and human connection to the Earth. Their work can be found in Ascend Magazine, Tongue Tied Magazine and Rose Quartz Magazine. Jam is currently working on their first novel. Find them on Instagram @artbyjam_ or Twitter @yikesjamaica