|
unhinged
|
(please read the original for author's spacing, layout)
today, i elect jonathon, eleven & already making roads out of water
young genius, blog writer, lil community activist, curls tight
as pinky swears, black as my nation i trust the world in his tender
blooming hands, i trust him to tell us which rivers are safe to drink
& which hold fish like a promise
& i elect eve ewing, who i know would ms. frizzle the country
into one big classroom where grandmas finger paint
the national budget & uncles stand around smoking blacks
plotting on stars for our escape she could walk to the podium
at her inauguration & say, *the future is now*, & we'd all marvel
at the sun & moon looping the sky like a gif as the cars learned
to fly & our skin grew bulletproof
& colin kaepernick is my president, who kneels on the air
bent toward a branch, throwing apples down to the children & vets
& rihanna is my president, walking out of global summits
with wineglass in hand, our taxes returned in gold
to dust our faces into coins
& my mama is my president, her grace stunts
on amazing, brown hands breaking brown bread over
mouths of the hungry until there are none unfed
& my grandma is my president & her cabinet is her cabinet
cause she knows to trust what the pan knows
how the skillet wins the war
& the ma i saw high kicking his way down the river?
he is my president
& the trans girl making songs in her closet, spinning the dark
into a booming dress? she too is my president
& shonda rhimes is my president
& nate marshall is my president
& trina is my president
& the boys outside walgreens selling candy
for a possibly fictional basketball team are my presidents
& the bus driver who stops after you yell *wait!* only twice
is my president
& the dude at the pizza spot who will give you a free slice
if you are down to wait for him to finish the day's fourth prayer
is my president
& my auntie only a few months clean, but clean
she is my president
& my neighbor who holds the door open why my arms
are full of laundry is my president
& every head nod is my president
& every child singing summer with a red sweet tongue is my president
& the birds
& the cooks
& the single moms especially
& the weed dealers
& the teachers
& the meter maid who lets you slide
& the cab drivers who stop
& the nurses swollen feet
& the braider's exhausted hands
& the bartender
& beyonce
& all her kids
& the rabbi
& the sad girls
& the leather daddy who always stops to say *good morning*
& the boy crying on the train & the sudden abuela who rubs his back
&the uncle who offers him water & the drag queen who begins to hum
o my presidents!
my presidents!
my presidents!
my presidents!
show me to our nation
my only border is my body
i sing your names
sing your names
your names
my mighty anthem
- danez_smith
|
200221
|
