Turning ElegyLeaving is all we have.It’s your not being here speaking.Leaving the door ajar, the tableswept—turning into something less than comfort. What did you...
At the State Maximum Security PrisonThere are no elevators. They can’t be secured.To get to classrooms on the third floor,everyone takes the stairs.Before...
The Rainy Season
We report the discovery of the Labord’s chameleon, with a posthatching life span of just 4–5 months.— PNAS abstract: “Unique life history...
I Don’t Know the Biochemistryof a Hummingbird
I can only wonderat this blurredwhir of evidence, cloudedin the blue fanof a thousandwings. I wantto feeltheir million...
Afro Carolina Black: There is More Than One Way
In case you haven’t noticed…
I am BlackCarolina BlackAfro Carolina BlackAfro North Kakalak BlackEastern Afro Carolina BlackBorn...
MY SPANISH IS NO GOOD
The shifting breezes barely stirred the sodden flags;the tide turned, to inch back toward the sea,spilling yonder poplars upside down.Redwing...
FALLSTREETLIGHT SWITCH
The sodium-vapor streetlightswith fresnel lenses like lidded eyeshave been replacedwith horseshoe-like arcs of LED lights.As the morning stays dark longerand evening comes on...
Cloth & Sun
Chaos greets me at the door—
broken things swirl,
dust motes through worn curtains,
a breath before the next bruise.
You coil like an old cobra,
fangs...