There is in the Water What happened here the history I mean thismean thing there right there the bridgewhere they were lynched and who elsewas there and this is always here Ito make them mean something and howcan inanimate objects say...

SURVIVAL MECHANISMFor a land-grab moment,I am eight years old,A celebrant in heaven.Hand in hand withMy daughters.Glory, elation, youth.Tantrums of joyElucidated by theirChyron thoughts,“I like...

CucumbersHey God.Thanks for Tomatoes red as the engine of life.See, dicing them dulls the labored days,bringing me as close to meditation as I’ve ever been.And...

City Blocks(After ‘In Flanders Fields’ by John McCrae)In city blocks the missiles, bombs explode,families slaughtered in homes, on the road,in basement boltholes civilians still...

Do Black People Speak a Foreign Language?Hell to the no. You told me 50 years agoDonna Reed cannot translate jive into Wonder BreadUnderstood soft...

Inheritances My brother tells me he wants to save me from the shock of finding out what’s in Ma’s will. Do you want me to...

A Simple MachineThe noose that was used to hang John Brown is allegedly in the permanent collection at the Massachusetts Historical Society. Frayed and wild...

Untitled: On the Bus (A) Black men (man) glance (s)at each other (me)then quickly look (s) away.A quick check (-ing out),a look to size (each...

The following poem was translated from Zarpamos, a selection ofpoems by the Oaxacan poet Guadalupe Ángela, translated from Spanishinto English by Yael Kiken. This...

Last Supper in Baltimore An impressive murder of crowsdoes not makenational headlinesnor does the murder of young TaiBlack, trans, beautifulin an alley just down Lafayette above...