almost nothing gets me out my chair hootin and hollerin faster than Serena Williams at the us open

Poem by Ashley Elizabeth

“almost nothing gets me out my chair hootin and hollerin faster than Serena Williams at the us open”

the roar does something to me

not just her roar, her, Come on, her grunts

but the crowd imbibing the joy

the swell is almost overwhelming

as she pumps her fist, saying I

am here. I am Serena,

as her beaded ponytails bounce

readying for another serve.

The umpire has to say Please

to quiet the stands between points.

Please, at 27000 people

but me, Black girl,

can be as loud as I want at home

screaming with each point, won or missed.

I mimic the fist pump

or I scream move your feet at the screen

even though I know she can’t hear me.

It is all in love.

Ashley Elizabeth (she/her) is a writer and teacher from Baltimore, MD. Her poetry has appeared in SWWIM, Santa Fe Writers Project, and West Trestle Review, among others. Ashley’s sophomore chapbook collection, black has every right to be angry, is forthcoming from Alternating Current. When Ashley isn’t teaching, editing, or working as a co-founder of the Estuary Collective, she habitually posts on Twitter and Instagram (@ae_thepoet). She lives with her partner and their cats.

Photo credit: Brycia James