This was originally published at The Rumpus
on June 7, 2018.
Magical Negro #1: Jesus Christ
They make his eyes that color
so he can seduce you. Literally
every white boyfriend tender
until they’re not. Y’all know
that nigger was a nigger.
Y’all know those whores
were whores. Sometimes
I go to the sink for water
and I come back with a jar
full of wine. Every second
I breathe, I forgive.
Parker’s Mood by Charlie Parker
I am only as lonely
as anybody else, I say
at lunch downtown, examining
my worth. It isn’t
summertime. At the end,
“Lilac Wine” by Eartha Kitt vs. “Lilac Wine” by Jeff Buckley
How many men
before I understand. I don’t want to
but I do. Invade.
Try to breathe
from their mouths.
The master’s tools—
I have them.
The house is getting too big.
My people—there’s style,
there’s misery.
The finest imports. Tender,
bittersweet. I want to build
a reef for us, fill it
with arrows.
