“America is loving me to death, loving me to death slowly, and I Mainly try not to be disappeared here, knowing she won’t pledge Even tolerance in return. Dear God, I can’t offer allegiance.” AmericaDeathPoetryDyingPoemRacismLoyaltyToleranceAfrican AmericansAllegiance Book:Worldly Things Source: Worldly Things
“I woke to the news you were dead. The what arrived before daylight; the how was agony unfolding as I dreaded my way to dusk. Unfolding against my want not to know (but I already knew, have known since I could know): officers, arrest, Black, man, twenty, video, knee, sir, back, dollar, 8, counterfeit, hands, sorry, 46, mama, please, breathe, please! Were you tired George? I feel tired sometimes. America on my neck--my lungs compressed so much they can't expand/contract--” PoetryPoemRacismAfrican AmericansBlack Lives MatterPolice BrutalitySystemic RacismGeorge Floyd Book:Worldly Things Source: Worldly Things
“In America there’s one winning story—no adaptations. The Story imagines a noble, grand progress where we’re all united. Like truths are as self-evident as the Declaration states. Or like they would be if not for detractors like me, the ranks of Vagabonds existing to point out what’s rotten in America, Insisting her gains come at a cost, reminding her who pays, and Negating wild notions of exceptionalism—adding ugly facts to God’s-favorite-nation mythology.” AmericaPoetryPoemRacismConstitutionAfrican AmericansDeclaration Of Independence Book:Worldly Things Source: Worldly Things