Alternate universe in which my professor asks if anyone in the room….

By Arianna Monet I say Well, it is a compound word, so..

Code. Noun.
A system of marking things with different colors
as a means of identification.

The Such Thing As the Ridiculous Question –

By Siaara Freeman When I say ancestors, let’s be clear:
I mean slaves. I’m talkin’ Tennessee
cotton & Louisiana suga. I mean grave dirt.

By Cintia Santana inside
a cell
a heart

(my cousin’s)

inside
his heart
(inside
a cell)
a cluster
of cells

arrested

By Aurora Levins Morales Why do they call us "the patient"
We are not patient. We endure.

By Adela Najarro I have learned to speak dementia
by looking straight into her eyes
smiling, laughing, then digging deep

By Allison Adelle Hedge Coke Your arm was twisted, bone exposed
face past point of wet stained,
fledgling fell there

By Joselia Rebekah Hughes Black able rack able
hack able tack able
lack able slack able

By Liv Mammone The train is a creature that moves like water.
It has no eyes, only a sharp
mouth that closes on those too slow.

By David James "DJ" Savarese The ear that hears the cardinal
hears in red;

the eye that spots the salmon

By Eli Clare drift
lose time
gain time