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
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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
For the Fifty (Who Formed PEACE With Their Bodies)
By Philip MetresIn the green beginning,
in the morning mist,
they emerge from their chrysalis
Kissing in Vietnamese
By Ocean VuongMy grandmother kisses
as if bombs are bursting in the backyard,
where mint and jasmine lace their perfumes
Air Empathy
By Jeffrey McDanielOn the red-eye from Seattle, a two-year-old
in the seat behind me screeches
his miniature guts out.
Torso
By Francisco AragónDespite the absent head (whose eyes
were the green of apples)
IV. Wheel Spinning
By Natalie IllumThe first time I saw these activists turned
acrobats, I was immobilized as they arched
through hoops, twisting like DNA.
from Nights of 1990
By Richard McCannWhat I could not accept was how much space
his body was taking with it: for instance, the space where
I was standing, the dazed fluorescence of his hospital room
America, I Sing Back
By Allison Adelle Hedge CokeAmerica, I sing back. Sing back what sung you in.
Sing back the moment you cherished breath.
Sing you home into yourself and back to reaso