1 poem
Tragedies in Acts: Avoiding Emmett Till at Furious Flower’s Blacksonian
In Accra, Mom wanted to go North where
the tallest Ghanians abide, Othello-like,
we’d sojourn, weirdly combine, daughter crone, recall bleak magic, sail ships docks. I instead
advocate for tilapia so fresh so we remain lounging south by Tetakwashi Roundabout.
i lie then. Now before this black tie thing, neck time thing, I stop by the bottom rim of
DC’s upside down triangle, quiver hitting home, ere prepping aesthetics to perform.
African (Am) Osiric land, I walk under earth, saw roots of that poetic day, taction muffled
breath, feet shuffles from one cased ampere to the next.
Heavy aerating hvac, I emerge earth-level, furthest I could go.
Time to gown for a ball, taffeta covers, a pregnant pause, over pine, eternal hold, pleats
avert an aortic rupture source, promising to return to that thresh, that last
square. He waits. Dakar dead do. Crypt above Accra. Across Congo saying
“come.”
There are things I can’t. I celebrate beings brave. I looked askew at the cliff door, Sunuu Gaal
from sea shored. I could have been Black Gertrude this day report this innocent babe, puffed
fore, head garlanded by nettle, how our
cracked crania could repeat inner swells erupting cheeks.
I fear upheaving grief. I’ve bowed to Dubois’ tomb, other great warriors who’ve
won. At the sparkling display, I cower above the frown of Mamie’s murdered son.
© Tracie Morris 2020
Tracie Morris has presented her work of innovative art and theory in over 30 countries and is the author/editor of 8 books. Her installations and performances have been featured at national and international museums and galleries including the Dia:Chelsea, The New Museum, The Kitchen Performance Space, The Drawing Center, The Museum of Modern Art, Albertine, National Museum of African American History and Culture, The Victoria and Albert Museum, Centre Pompidou, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, Lévy Gorvy and The Whitney Biennial. Her most recent published poetry collections are handholding: on the other hand (forthcoming from Kore Press), Hard Kore: Poemes/Per-Form: Poems of Mythos and Place (in English and French joca seria, 2017/2018). Her creative non-fiction work, Who Do With Words is in its second, expanded edition from Chax Press. She has served as the 2018-2019 Woodberry Poetry Room Creative Fellow at Harvard University, the CPCW Fellow of Creative Writing at the University of Pennsylvania, and Cave Canem. She was resident artist at the Millay, Yaddo and MacDowell artist colonies. Ms. Morris has been designated a Master Artist by the Atlantic Center for the Arts. Tracie holds an MFA in poetry from Hunter College, CUNY, a PhD in Performance Studies from New York University and is Professor of Poetry at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop.