These poems are part of a special section of the Mid-Atlantic Review, Celebrating Black History, and selected by editors Khadijah Ali-Coleman, Carolivia Herron, and Rebecca Bishophall. To learn more about this series read a blog post on the Day Eight website here.
On a Black High School Senior Who Cannot Walk With His Class Because of His Natural Hairstyle
By Synnika Alek-Chizoba Lofton
Inside
this flesh.
Inside
this
skin,
I develop
a method
to protect walls,
soulful interior
of the flesh,
Music
which
represents
tradition
and culture.
This body
is celebrated,
like jazz
in June,
like bright,
Black paintings
by Basquiat,
lighting
up city
blocks with
urban appeal,
with aggressive
Beauty, with
tattered dreams
that still grow.
Around here,
I live
in my purpose,
cornrows showing
the path to freedom,
braids tightened
with hair grease,
momma’s love,
knotty dreadlocks
reaching for scorched
earth, just to keep
it
Cool.
I keep it cool while
they
find ways to put bullets
and knives
through my back.
Living
in America
is dangerous,
if you got
the wrong kind
of hair. Living
in America is
dangerous, if you
got the wrong
type of hair
Flight patterns
represent
progress.
I sign
my name
on tomorrow,
growing success
from
my scalp.
Synnika Alek-Chizoba Lofton is an award-winning poet, author, and educator. He is the author of more than 40 poetry collections, and he has recorded more than 170 spoken word albums, Eps, singles, and digital downloads. He earned both a B.A. with a concentration in Creative Writing from Goddard College (2004) and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing (2006). Lofton teaches literature at Chesapeake Bay Academy and Composition and Public Speaking at Norfolk State University.
Featured image in this post is: “Transit Tech CTE High School Graduation (52178830155)”, Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York from United States of America, creative commons, via Wikimedia Commons.
