It’s an honor train comin
Sky snatched since dreams cloned names as jazz hieroglyphs
Names as days of week and months of year
Names lifted, spoken, hummed, felt, tasted
Till ancient Auntie whispered
Don’t forget me, my name Sandra, too
Her spit gentle
A breath among knowns and unknowns
Monumental bronzing till more went gone
Till rat tat tat
Till tombs
Till suddenly sound and fury queried
Black girls/women, where y’all at?
Here, answered sky, heirs of nocturnal breezes
Here, answered dreams, willful, conversant, amused
Here, answered hieroglyphs, composing spells for next generations’
arrangement of blatant and understanding of current
How wild tree sap sweetened sultry
How terrifying night muscle astonished
How ripped leaves turned magic doodles day tripped into mouths as yearning
Oh tongue, oh lips, oh mouth
Here, answered black girls / women
We homegirls
Hand grenades ready.
After Sonia Sanchez
For #SayHerName: Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor, and all the others
