MJ is a Black, queer non-binary poet & parent living in Oakland, CA. Their work is featured or forthcoming at Kissing Dynamite, Rigorous Mag, & Borderlands Texas Poetry Review. They are an Assistant Poetry Editor at Foglifter Press. MJ has received fellowships from the Hurston/Wright Foundation, SF Writers Grotto, VONA, & Kearny Street Workshop. They are currently the Community Engagement Graduate Fellow in the MFA program at Mills College.
Sidewalk sprouted more candles bouquets foil heart balloons, swallowed a child whole into its undercarriage. Its breath copper alchemy and lead, ruptured promises, knee’s leaps over cracked back superstitions. On a corner you can app map a reroute real simple. Bend wheels round less troubled avenues. Ancient streets bear the same names as new paved ones. New paved ones leave… Read more →
With his light skin, my great-grandfather evaded a lynching in Little Rock, AR. He who does not illuminate monstrous in cover of night / smuggles a trio of sons / passed burning poplar / passed snapped neck. Bundled flesh freight / secluded in burlap laid across steel truck bed / This fair passage the weight of witness / Devoid of… Read more →