MoSt will be posting a poem by an African American poet on Facebook, and here on our blog, each day during the month of June. Here is our first poem.
alternate names for black boys
BY DANEZ SMITH
1. smoke above the burning bush
2. archnemesis of summer night
3. first son of soil
4. coal awaiting spark & wind
5. guilty until proven dead
6. oil heavy starlight
7. monster until proven ghost
8. gone
9. phoenix who forgets to un-ash
10. going, going, gone
11. gods of shovels & black veils
12. what once passed for kindling
13. fireworks at dawn
14. brilliant, shadow hued coral
15. (I thought to leave this blank
but who am I to name us nothing?)
16. prayer who learned to bite & sprint
17. a mother’s joy & clutched breath
Originally published in Poetry Magazine, March 2014
Consider donating to the poet’s Venmo @Danez-Smith, collecting for food, first aid, and other materials for Minneapolis protesters.
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