Pick Up Your Feelings (after Jazmine Sullivan)

Honestly, I’m tired. I’m Black and Woman and Queer, and this country is a mess. But these poems by these poets hold the Annie Lee painting “Blue Monday” in me, and a person who can persist—look at my life and ask questions: who do I love, what is my salve, who keeps me dreaming? And, these poets never shirk the past, but lay it out so we know “this has been, and it’s doneness is a myth, so what new-new you got?” I’m ever grateful for their sharp inquiry, their beauty, and ultimately their call to rise. Yes, there's a fight. And there’s something more to fight for: this living thing. When Lorde said. When Morrison said. When Baldwin said. When Hurston said. When Kitt said. We call back. Listen.