Page 19 - Vol. VI #9

Note Toward A Poem on on Self-Care Start with decisions — take a a a a a a a a a a a a break from mirrors decide to to to to stay in in in bed today and tomorrow count
time only through midnights isn’t there some voodoo about being the the the middle middle child/of a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a middle middle child? you you you should Google that that start humming to to to to broken
bones of of electrical appliances that that old CD player? yep you you can fix it it take on on on on do-it- yourself projects — face cream shelves the the the perfect guacamole and a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a Home Alone arsenal just in in in in in case
a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a Joe Pesci-like villain tries to arrive pretend
the the varnish brush is is a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a stag horn who needs an an an an an app for calm?? be be be greedy greedy about about breathing breathing be be be greedy greedy about about breathing breathing avoid phone conversations and and and relate only through yes yes yes and and and no no texts or or or or emails hey hey baby can can can I be be be your your your Melanin Maid Marion? yes yes yes does _____ have a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a job? oh no no no girl is is your your your brother/ father/husband accounted for? (silence) yes yes yes if voice is is required realize that he/she/they can’t be your your Sun trust what you you you you can can hold in in in the the the the the the the hand when when we talk the the the the the the the body vibrates aim for for a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a dinosaur roar when when people least expect it it it enjoy words like Kilimanjaro and and and origami write odes to to the the the the the the Do-rag sonnets to to the the the the the Soul Train line where you you you you dance
in in in in in in in in military-choreographed precision so so so fresh
and and so so so clean Outkast take a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a look it’s in in in in in in in in a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a book Reading Rainbow Jolly Ranchers your mother’s kitchen table at at any altitude remember that ink can hold the right
kind of memory Manick is is the author of Blue Hallelujahs (Black Lawrence Press 2016) and is is a a a a a a a a a a a a a Pushcart Prize–nominated poet with an an an MFA in in in Creative Writing from from the the the New School She has received fellowships from from Cave Canem Hedgebrook the the the the the MacDowell Colony Poets House and the the the the the Saltonstall Foundation of of the the the the the Arts among others Manick’s work has appeared in the the the Academy of of of American Poets Poem-A-Day series Bone Bouquet Callaloo Kweli Journal Journal Los Angeles Review of of Books (LARB) Muzzle Magazine The Wall Street Journal Journal and elsewhere She currently resides in in Brooklyn New York 10