Calling poets to a greater role in public life and fostering a national network of socially engaged poets.
By Faylita HicksCrawling out from between the legs of a woman
with my name still wetly slathered across her chin,
I cradle the lewd silk of our venom
up against the hot swell of my caged chest, wade out
through her front door, into the murky billows
of the damned and the damnable,
By adrienne maree browneven now
we could be happy
even now
breathing in
filling our bodies with right now
By mónica teresa ortizI wake up sleepless inside a room overlooking giants//mist peeling over olive trees//clouds of pleasure
By Rio CortezJust as close to living as you are to disappearing knowing
my limits you locate the tender spots without.
By Ashna AliOn an assemblage of screens on another firework evening
Ruthie Gilmore reminds us that abolition is not recitation.
By Siaara FreemanWhen I say ancestors, let’s be clear:
I mean slaves. I’m talkin’ Tennessee
cotton & Louisiana suga. I mean grave dirt.
By Aurora Levins MoralesWhy do they call us "the patient"
We are not patient. We endure.
By Liv MammoneThe train is a creature that moves like water.
It has no eyes, only a sharp
mouth that closes on those too slow.
By Michal 'MJ' JonesYou are [found] in
cherry blossom trees / heron bird flight /rib-
bon of night / space between stairs / rose
By Travis Chi Wing LauI shrug off my messenger onto the floor and forget to kiss you when I walk through the door.