Rain Dance
By Rashida James-Saadiyawe scatter
dodge words that rip into flesh
hide from clenched fist
Search Results
Autumn, New York, 1999
By Patricia Spears JonesAnd I am full of worry I wrote to a friend
Worry, she replied about what—love, money, health?
All of them, I wrote back. It’s autumn, the air is clear
Antebellum
By Gregory PardloUnfinished, the road turns off the fill
from the gulf coast, tracing the bay, to follow
the inland waterway.
Daisy Cutter
By Camille T. DungyPause here at the flower stand-mums
and gladiolas, purple carnations
dark as my heart.
Prayer of the Backhanded
By Jericho BrownNot the palm, not the pear tree
Switch, not the broomstick,
Nor the closet extension
Cord, not his braided belt, but God
Understanding Tina Turner
By Tara BettsQuiet girl found a voice mama could not quell
inside Nutbush City Limits. The baby
blasted beyond timid Annie Mae into Tina
Note from a Prodigal Son III
By Randall HortonThe gavel
The splintered body
The red-neck guards
Final Exam Administration
By Remica L. BinghamI enter to find all the students in uniform
occupying a small room.
One Man’s Plea
By Lita HooperFrederick Lake has been to prison
finished his time
convicted in 1989
Manchild
By Cornelius EadyA warning one white friend hisses
To the one standing nearest to me
At an Upper West Side newsstand.