I didn’t come into the world With a shower of pumice and a head full of hair To sit idly in my tracks waiting for Trains to come through. The crystalline air, choking and grey, said “I’m here, a child of the earth, but not bound to subtlety.” My mission, from the start, has been To pull out by the roots what had laid dormant … Continue reading Furious
Danez Smith is a black, male-bodied, male-attracted, non-binary, HIV positive poet and the poems they weave make it clear how each of those seemingly disparate aspects of them are actually a web in which they’re caught and struggle. If all of the words they use were pulled out of their form and organized into which appears most, “blood” would likely be first, followed by “red” … Continue reading Danez Smith “Don’t Call Us Dead”
Walk into the fire. Trust the flames not to hurt If they aren’t hot. Seize the moment when your breath Has all gone out, waiting for pain, To be the moment before your breath returns. The beads of sweat Are sweet and full. There are no burns That can take you whole. Birth always hurts But we must turn towards The fireproof suit that we … Continue reading Fireproof Suit
