after Kerry James Marshall


I.


&nbsp;


incise it&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;excavate&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;peer inside&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;find


the power source&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;frankenstein all&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;the best parts


&nbsp;


(Tiger&rsquo;s wood


Henrietta lacks pain receptors


ever seen a Usain bolt


Rihanna Joyner-Kersee


Iman O&rsquo;Neal)


&nbsp;


cut the body&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; black&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; and blue


slash artery rows&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; splash the lab coat&nbsp;&nbsp; a stain&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; always comes out


&nbsp;


&nbsp;


&nbsp;


&nbsp;


&nbsp;


II.


&nbsp;


this is an ugly thing to do and here i


am doing it


&nbsp;


a white conceptual poet did a similar


thing; and a white painter; and a white


installation artist; and a black installation


artist, with fat albert&rsquo;s likeness: used


a black boy&rsquo;s corpse, called it art


&nbsp;


symbolism and personhood


aren&rsquo;t friends


&nbsp;


&nbsp;


&nbsp;


&nbsp;


&nbsp;


III.


&nbsp;


you&rsquo;ll be made prop if you don&rsquo;t speak up


you&rsquo;ll be made prop if you don&rsquo;t speak up


you&rsquo;ll be made you if you don&rsquo;t speak prop


you&rsquo;ll be propped up if you can&rsquo;t be made


you&rsquo;ll be made prop if you can&rsquo;t speak up


you don&rsquo;t speak up if you&rsquo;ll be made prop


you&rsquo;ll be made&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; if you&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;speak


&nbsp;


&nbsp; you&rsquo;ll be made prop if you don&rsquo;t speak up


you&rsquo;ll&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; prop&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; you&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;up


&nbsp; you&rsquo;ll be made prop if you don&rsquo;t speak up


&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;be made&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;up


you&rsquo;ll be made prop if you can&rsquo;t speak up


don&rsquo;t speak&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; up you&rsquo;ll be&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;prop


you&rsquo;ll be made prop if you can&rsquo;t speak up


&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;you&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; speak


up you&rsquo;ll be made prop if you don&rsquo;t speak


up


&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;be&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;prop&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; don&rsquo;t&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;speak


you&rsquo;ll be made prop if you can&rsquo;t speak up


&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; you can&rsquo;t speak up


you&rsquo;ll be made prop if you don&rsquo;t speak up


&nbsp;


&nbsp;


&nbsp;


&nbsp;


&nbsp;


IV.


&nbsp;


on a dance floor, completely outside,


i watched my body bird&rsquo;s


eye. it was holy, holy,


whole


Beauty Examined

after Juliana Huxtable


&nbsp;


Jackson and I awaken in bed drained&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ached from endless


day of drinking and dancing in sunny brooklyn


rhodiola tincture starts the mornting&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; before natural coco oil wash


showers as we dress we talk Afropunk&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;how it used to be free&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; who


can&rsquo;t go then we go&nbsp;lyft ride to quick thai for lunch&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;crabmeat fried rice


shrimp pad thai with egg bean sprout scallion and crusted peanut


chicken dumplings&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;fresh lychee juice&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; bit heavy on the meat


buuut bestie&rsquo;s here from nashville we clean each plate


walk to day two bloated in cute clothes&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; yesterday we stormed the pro-


Black fest with the all-Black lineup in our best Black dress&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; denim shortalls


pink triangles patterned on hand-batik cotton&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;lacy white wedges


forty inch Beyonc&eacute; braid&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; shades to match both fits


strangers snapped unprompted pics


we sipped frozen pi&ntilde;a colada and orange mango and cranberry lime smoothies


ate empanadas de carne y picadillo


everything we bought we bought Black&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; as we


shopped cousins in cuba&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; with our same skin


checked medicine drawers starved&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; by the embargo


wax print Hotep hittin&rsquo; the Shoot to our left&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; right by Obama tank guy


showin&rsquo; off those guns


as we bopped&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; we passed a white man in the crowd


rockin&rsquo; a tee that read BLACK EXCELLENCE&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; and damn near all of us boogied


straight past the rent control tablers


Black capitalist wet dream

Nina Simone sang &ldquo;[POC] is the color of my true love&rsquo;s hair&rdquo;

&amp; they say [POC] don&rsquo;t crack

&amp; let us bless gumbo

quimbomb&oacute; &amp; [POC]-eyed peas

&amp; [POC] weddings &amp; broom jumps &amp; Danez Smith

wrote &ldquo;&amp; even the [POC] guy&rsquo;s profile reads &lsquo;sorry,


no [POC] guys&rdquo; &amp; to flirt men have asked if I&rsquo;m

[POC] where it counts

&amp; hey remember outcry over [POC] Rue

in The Hunger Games

[POC] Hermione [POC] James

Bond [POC] Spiderman &amp; Mary

Jane &amp;


when cops kneel on [POC] necks

the autopsies that come next can

lie can blame underlying conditions

&amp; [POC] Lives Matter

to the public for about a week at a time

&amp; somehow bulbs of [POC] joy bloom ceaselessly from dirt


terror &amp; there&rsquo;s at least 26 new ways of looking

at a [POC]bird by now with all this high tech so

chew on that, Wally Stevens,

&amp; did you know the lab-made Vanta[POC]&mdash;one of the darkest

known substances&mdash;absorbs 99.96% of natural light?

Ideal Burial Checklist: coffin that color,


[POC] orchids all over, a few berry seeds plopped

upon my plot, some of the rasp variety, most [POC],

&amp; let there be medleys of essential [POC] tunes for y&rsquo;all

to throw ass to at the after-party, &amp; please, change

out those [POC] funeral rags into something fun,

something that swans as you sway


&amp; please, pour dem drinks high

but not SO high you [POC] out

&amp; pretty please, have fun,

remember that in all my [POC]-ass life,

I had a good time,

really, I enjoyed myself.


Black Erasure

Hostile talk of Santer&iacute;a bites my ears like frost.

(Because Afro-Cuba) (Because the ancestors

fought for it) (Because the enslaved

saved what slavers tried to take) (Because

my black) (Because my blood) (Because no

cruelty should cross me) (Because the

entire goat is consumed) (Because the

entire chicken is consumed) (Because

Azealia&rsquo;s chicken closet is better known)

(Because

the Sublime song &ldquo;Santeria&rdquo; is better known)

(Because santeras are my t&iacute;as) (Because

santeras pray for me) (Because Cal and I shook

the acher&eacute; as Abuelo prayed on Mom&rsquo;s

cancer) (Because Yemay&aacute;&rsquo;s portrait in any

home

brings me home) (Because Abuela keeps an

altar) (Because my mother keeps a glass of water

out for the saints) (Because Orich&aacute;s switch

genders) (Because some Orich&aacute;s took

lovers

of their gender) (Because I once trusted the

narratives) (Because Hollywood&rsquo;s Africa) (Because the

Catholic church) (Because blood must be seen

for cruelty to be named) (Because only some are

born clean) (Because history) (Because history

repeats) (Because history has mouths we speak

through)


From an Agnostic

I like to write in Palatino porque as pa&rsquo; Latinos. &lsquo;Latino&rsquo; is a vintage, oversized sweater&mdash;not for everyone. Gringos love saying only gringos say Latinx. That X is a well-meant murmur: text-to-speech software can&rsquo;t read it. Basically all of this is fucked up, and none of it comes close to the border. I&rsquo;m not Mexican, but whatever, aren&rsquo;t we all, here? A 1958 CIA note describes Che Guevara as &ldquo;&hellip; fairly intellectual for a Latino. He is quite well-read in &ldquo;Latino&rdquo; literature and has an appreciation of the classics from other literatures.&rdquo; A 2008 school librarian catches me cutting line and warns Sonia Sotomayor&rsquo;s new Supreme Court gig is no excuse to act out. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s right is right&rdquo; rings like &ldquo;what&rsquo;s white is right,&rdquo; like white rules of race are right, like I&rsquo;m Puerto Rican to her, like we&rsquo;re not both black. I ain&rsquo;t mad at her or at any other black folks. It&rsquo;s not our fault this lacks a stitch of sense. Each week I wake I wait to be quizzed on the why of my face. Each year or so, some talking head calls Naomi Campbell African-American. We&rsquo;re all wearing one giant, secondhand sweater that says RACE on it in Palatino and some are tucked in the left sleeve and a bunch are in the right and there&rsquo;s the mock neck and seams at the bottom and loose threads in the middle and the whole thing&rsquo;s itchy.


Kyle Carrero Lopez

Beauty Examined

Black capitalist wet dream

Black Erasure

From an Agnostic

Mi Gente Estadounidense

Kyle Carrero Lopez

Muscle Memory

Beauty Examined

Black capitalist wet dream

Black Erasure

From an Agnostic

Mi Gente Estadounidense