what the dead know by heart
By Donte Collins
lately, when asked how are you, i
respond with a name no longer living
Rekia, Jamar, Sandra
i am alive by luck at this point. i wonder
often: if the gun that will unmake me
is yet made, what white birth
will bury me, how many bullets, like a
flock of blue jays, will come carry my black
to its final bed, which photo will be used
to water down my blood. today i did
not die and there is no god or law to
thank. the bullet missed my head
and landed in another. today, i passed
a mirror and did not see a body, instead
a suggestion, a debate, a blank
post-it note there looking back. i
haven’t enough room to both rage and
weep. i go to cry and each tear turns
to steam. I say I matter and a ghost
white hand appears over my mouth
Copyright © 2016 by Donte Collins. Used with permission of the author.
http://www.startribune.com/st-paul-poet-wins-young-poet-award-from-academy-of-american-poets/392828781/
http://www.startribune.com/st-paul-poet-wins-young-poet-award-from-academy-of-american-poets/392828781/
