Praying by Mary Oliver
“just / pay attention, then patch / a few words together and don’t try / to make them elaborate” — Mary Oliver
What Kind of Times Are These by Adrienne Rich
“our country moving closer to its own truth and dread, / its own ways of making people disappear.” — Adrienne Rich
Uncles (Blood) by Kevin Young
"Uncles lie / beautifully. Years later / Uncles won't much remember" — Kevin Young
Intifada Incantation: Poem #8 for b.b.L. by June Jordan
"I SAID I LOVED YOU AND I WANTED / JUSTICE UNDER MY NOSE" — June Jordan
How To Destroy A Building by Erica Miriam Fabri
“Even with that brand new, raw despair / still erupting in our throats, never did we wish / to make children become ash.” — Erica Miriam Fabri
The Poets Who Are Our Enemies by Vievee Francis
"The poets who are our enemies are not writing / for a canon, their letters black as smoke / filling an emptied square. They are writing for their lives." — Vievee Francis
Breaklight by Lucille Clifton
“light keeps on breaking. / i keep knowing / the language of other nations.” — Lucille Clifton
Notes On Staying by Hieu Minh Nguyen
"If joy is what tethers us to this life then most days, my mother & I float above the pavement, tied together by the fraying threads of her nightgown." — Hieu Minh Nguyen