Ryan tells me a taillight is out.

1.

when crime is embroidered
on your skin at birth
one must take precaution:
say ‘I love you’
each time you step out
because stepping in again
isn’t a basic human right.
shame, shame
sometimes simple fixes cost
more than one Black man’s life

       – the mechanics of this baffle… still

2.

my uncle pulled into the driveway
strobing red and blue not far behind
& I saw the world implode again
busted taillights and death sentences
are the same when your skin’s brown
driving while poor and Black
a dangerous game indeed
fifteen miles from city to city
brought in the hounds / blocked off the street

3.

I believe in possibility:
we could have been an outraged march
on Hartford’s crumbling roads
fear inherited from a black history
is Black History
shame, shame

Author of the article

Kashawn Taylor is a writer and educator from CT. He currently teaches creative writing with Gotham Writers Workshop. His work has appeared in such journals and magazines as Poetry, The Offing, and more. His recent collection of poetry, subhuman., is available from Wayfarer Books.