French Leave Claude McKay No servile little fear shall daunt my will   This morning, I have courage steeled to say I will be lazy, conqueringly still,   I will not lose the hours in toil this day. The roaring world without, careless of souls,   Shall leave me to my placid dream of rest, My four walls shield me from its shouting ghouls,   And all its hates have fled my quiet breast. And I will loll here resting, wide awake,   Dead to the world of work, the world of love, I laze contented just for dreaming’s sake,   [...]

Conversation in Isolation Harryette Mullen Neighbors nail the planks dividing their yard from mine. Our durable fence. I walk half a block before realizing I’ve forgotten my mask. One ant following another, trusting we all are going somewhere. Stretched between two poles, clothesline outside my window, a robin’s rest stop. Lemons fallen on the sidewalk to be rescued for my potpourri. No one and nothing touches me but this blue wind with cool caresses.

A Prayer for My People BY MATTHEW SHENODA That one day we will wish to be nothing more than what we are. That we will see within ourselves the liberation of nations, of concrete. That we will understand the inevitability in the lines of our hands.            There is a war raging in our backyard            With it my sister's spirit burns That the fire of my sister's spirit will consume our enemies & burn our streets clean.            There's a system of mangled necks           [...]

Blue Elvis BY FAITH SHEARIN It was August 1977 when Elvis Presley fell face down on his Graceland bathroom floor; by the time paramedics arrived, he was cold and blue. I knew this because I was with my grandmother, Belle, who called her sister, Geraldine, who came over at once so we could watch the news. My grandmother knew Elvis liked peanut butter on white bread with American cheese, eaten in his jungle room which had Tiki chairs, fur lampshades, a waterfall. Other neighbors arrived: women in short skirts, women who brought with them more of the food Elvis loved: coconut cakes, [...]