not an elegy for Mike Brown
By Danez SmithI am sick of writing this poem
but bring the boy. his new name
his same old body. ordinary, black
dead thing. bring him & we will mourn
Calling poets to a greater role in public life and fostering a national network of socially engaged poets.
By Danez SmithI am sick of writing this poem
but bring the boy. his new name
his same old body. ordinary, black
dead thing. bring him & we will mourn
By Constance NorgrenWho is she, standing just off-center,
her eyes on us, caught turning to us,
her arms folded over her chest,
By Saeed JonesAll throat now already brighter than the stars.
I could hold you in my song. Sotto voce, tremble
against me: a breeze slips in, cools my blood
By Homero AridjisA temple not in the temple
A temple apart from its form
A temple older than the stones
By Patricia Davisabout his sister how she
wanted
to be light
built night in her ribs
By Carlos Parada AyalaLos argonautas se albergaron
en la oscuridad de mis zapatos
y un dragón azul acudió
By Jericho BrownThey said to say goodnight
And not goodbye, unplugged
The TV when it rained. They hid
By Beth CopelandWhat do the howling hounds hear that we can't?
The moon sharpens its sword on the Earth's stone.
Palm trees on the shores of the Tigris stand sentinel,
By Quraysh Ali Lansanai've heard tell of a hustle
in brooklyn where clever folks
throw themselves in front of cars
By Purvi ShahThe mehndi is leaving my hands,
brown swirls dissolving into brown skin.
Somewhere you are traveling