Black boys are warm rain
on summer Sundays,
baptizing past pain

strong mothers maintain.
Sons never betray!
Black boys are warm rain

with nothing to gain,
while man goes astray
baptizing past pain.

Treated inhumane,
words never convey
Black boys are warm rain.

Innate Mark of Cain—
Readied for Doomsday!
Baptizing past pain.

Recollect. Explain.
His death’s a cliché—
Black boys are warm rain,
baptizing past pain.

[Stephen Earley Jordan II is the author of several books of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. He has also directed and written a few award-winning short, experimental films. Check out his latest book published January 2022, Gods Mourn Too: Essays on Writing and Questions for Thought.]