Monthly Archives: September 2022
Derek
I wanted to write a poem about Derek, but it would probably be a waste of time. Derek was my first boss when I was 15 years old working at a university pharmacology lab. I wanted to write about how … Continue reading
Plato’s Cave
After I requested permissions, and permissions were granted, I set foot into the cave. The darkness was swallowed by heat and honey, aloe and chants in indistinguishable, unwritten (yet familiar) languages– We spoke in tongues with soft, brittle edges burned … Continue reading
An Island Haiku
softly coquis cry electricity is gone estamos bien
Accepting Love
Love can never be unlearned when it’s always unreturned; And the only thing you yearn, (reciprocal and well earned), is to never feel heart burned. We, fools, truly can’t discern if it’s the heart or book-learned.
Upon Realizing My Uncle is a Pedophile
After my best friend left, and we were in the clear, my uncle asked, “Is she good?” My friend was 15. I was 16. “Yeah, she’s good. She’s nice. . . Why?” I responded. “No,” he responded. “I mean, in … Continue reading
Ceremonies
She borrowed my only copy of Essex Hemphill’s “Ceremonies,” a poetry collection, selling for $250, out of print. The cover, with two shirtless black men, had a slight white slanted crease from left to right. Otherwise, the pages were intact. … Continue reading
Hurricane Malady #2
I could tell you about the wind and how it howled like a motherfucker in my ear with sweet mother tongue music, conjuring those that came before to protect from events soon to happen before me. But it didn’t start … Continue reading
Card Counting #1: Talking to the Ancestors
“I used to have a racist Chinese friend who changed his name to sound more European. . .”–Stephen Earley Jordan II Continue reading
A Poem for the Darth Vader in Black Boys
New poem by Stephen Earley Jordan II, author of “Gods Mourn Too” a collection of essays on writing, questions for thought. Continue reading
Calming the Natives 