I wake up & it breaks my heart. I draw the blinds & the thrill of rain breaks my heart. I go outside. I ride the train, walk among the buildings, men in Monday suits. The flight of doves, the city of tents beneath the underpass, the huddled mass, old women hawking roses, & children all of them, break my heart.
[IMAGE ID: A contrapuntal poem inspired by Madi, Silver, and Flint from the TV show Black Sails. The poem is split into three columns per character. Each can be read as individual poems, and then together as one larger poem.
left column, Madi's poem reads:
what i love most
of all begins with
green, lush forests that
my people held
in their fists. i worship
what i can control,
which is to say,
any cascading
violence, i gather
with grief in
my hands.
to power,
to till this vastness,
a forgiving land.
center column, Silver's poem reads:
i take
all consuming fires
no one can
reverse
this duty–
i think
denial makes
shapes
in me, this dirt
this reckless design,
call me
to judgment
to shattered
memory:
right column, Flint's poem reads:
with grace, loss
beyond terror.
take away
histories
so i can mold
in sharp certainty,
a dark and cruel vice.
of my legend,
my fortress of shame,
i continue to raise
a hammer
that sings soft,
hollow echoes of
a bird, in mourning.
the combined poem reads:
what i love most i take with grace, loss
of all begins with all consuming fires beyond terror.
green, lush forests that no one can take away
my people held reverse histories
in their fists. i worship this duty– so i can mold
what i can control, i think in sharp certainty,
which is to say, denial makes a dark and cruel vice.
any cascading shapes of my legend,
violence, i gather in me, this dirt my fortress of shame,
with grief in this reckless design, i continue to raise
my hands. call me a hammer
to power, to judgment that sings soft,
to till this vastness, to shattered hollow echoes of
a forgiving land. memory: a bird, in mourning.
