Vox Populi
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Audio: Danez Smith reads “not an elegy for Mike Brown”
Running time: 1 minute
not an elegy for Mike Brown
I am sick of writing this poem
but bring the boy. his new name
his same old body. ordinary, black
dead thing. bring him & we will mourn
until we forget what we are mourning
& isn’t that what being black is about?
not the joy of it, but the feeling
you get when you are looking
at your child, turn your head,
then, poof, no more child.
that feeling. that’s black.
\\
think: once, a white girl
was kidnapped & that’s the Trojan war.
later, up the block, Troy got shot
& that was Tuesday. are we not worthy
of a city of ash? of 1000 ships
launched because we are missed?
always, something deserves to be burned.
it’s never the right thing now a days.
I demand a war to bring the dead boy back
no matter what his name is this time.
I at least demand a song. a song will do just fine.
\\
look at what the lord has made.
above Missouri, sweet smoke.
~
From “Split This Rock”
~~~
Audio recording from Split This Rock on an open license. Text copyright 2024 Danez Smith. Included in Vox Populi for educational noncommercial purposes only.
Danez Smith (they/their) is an American poet, writer and performer from St. Paul, Minnesota. They are queer, non-binary and HIV-positive. They are the author of the poetry collections [insert] Boy and Don’t Call Us Dead: Poems, both of which have received multiple awards, and Homie/My Nig. Graywolf Press published Bluff, their most recent poetry collection, in 2024.
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The names disappear because of the stroke, but their horrible deaths remain with the heavy evil that hangs over us.
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Racism is a problem everywhere in America, some places more than others.
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Some more nuanced perhaps, some more obvious as haters feel they have permission.
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Exactly!
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A duende like Lorca’s. Though Smith is local, this is the first time I’ve heard Smith read. Will seek them out. Michael Brown, one of way too many, like our local Philando Castile (whom I’d almost forgotten) or George Floyd.
Thanks to Vox
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The murder of people of color by the police is a very serious problem across the country, not to mention the injustices that are prevalent in the ‘justice system’.
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A requiem — a deep song, the deep, deep duende of this poem!
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yes, I agree. The poem comes from grief long held by the poet
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Yes, a song at least. Sharing.
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Thank you. Thank you.
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There is so much for which we need to demand a song, and if it is not sung by others, to sing it ourselves. Thanks for Danez and thanks again for Vox Populi.
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Thank YOU, Luray!
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