Poetry is a Responsibility

After learning Nikki Giovanni had passed away.
Dec. 10th, 2024 – 3:00 am

In the next world, if my warrior Queen
God is true / Nikki Giovanni
will not have to fight to be understood

all the waters are calm
all the seas tranquil
all the herds of people,
proper in their rest
in corners on grave symphonies
and tailored sympathies, like farms
owned within the absence of strangers

we are never strangers to ourselves
only granular strangers to our inner truth

A prayer for moments of familiarity
the cost too high to be justified by patience