Final Notice
Note. Us.
Body (BAG)
Double bottom. Six million. Unemployed. We’re leaking (out). Whose body? Whose bag? Times up.
Vulnerable
I am neither creole nor a juju practitioner. But I keep a laminated prayer binder-clipped to my notes. “benevolent Marie Laveau, who draws her strength from the Loas, i trust in your protecting love & strengthening power. in your kindness, give me the fortitude to confront the misfortunes i meet & the strength to overcome …
Voodoo
Soap. Nothing to lose. Maybe there’s a poem in hear.
Virus Detritus
Clean. We thought we were. Vinegar & water on the floor. Baking soda streaks of bleach. Is the virus leaking? Out.
Decay
I hold on as long as I can.
AWP 16
The Association of Writers and Writing Programs conference I attended in Los Angeles has been over a month ago but I’m still talking about it to friends and family. Particularly the story that I swear to goddess I am not embellishing, the story where I coached my shy extroverted me to find Claudia Rankine in …
Sister Soldier Speaks! is marching on… February 20th, UCSF Mt Zion 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Members of the 6888th Central Directory Battalion (CDDB), the military’s only unit of black women to serve overseas, pass in review during a parade, Birmingham, England 1945, Gladys Thomas Anderson Collection, Women’s Memorial Foundation Collection.
Poetry Warriors & Other Such Heroes
My wife & sister both said on separate phone calls that I sounded good this week, sounded like I was floating. We can blame the floating on the Cave Canem summer retreat I attended outside of Pittsburgh this week. A hard (not soft) break from work, untethered – no Blackberry, no webmail in the cloud. …
Succulent Love or Sucker for Succulents
I’ve been stuck on snapping succulents on Instagram. My love for succulents isn’t new. Succulents are sculpture. The soft & hard of it all. Open & closed. And the secret ingredient? – WATER! Swollen leaves hold it, water to survive another day in arid climates. Often relegated to the “back of the bus” in your …