ChickenBones: A Journal

for Literary & Artistic African-American Themes

   

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in the belly of a ship / in sand storms  in a sahara / in the storm and fury

of finding home far away from home / carry your guitar / carry you wooden box

carry your drum

 

 

 

guitar

By Bro. Yao

a box of strings

a wooden box

a box made of wood

with strings

 

a walk with strings

walk these strings

this wood, walk

with me

 

talk with these strings

talk with this wood

this wooden box

walk and talk

 

so when you go nomad

to travel and the drums

are heavy in the sun

in a desert in a Mississippi

 

in the belly of a ship

in sand storms  in a sahara

in the storm and fury

of finding home far away from home

 

carry your guitar

carry you wooden box

carry your drum

 

heat splitting day

darts of fire and arrows

in the hot sun

of a sick white man’s gaze

take your guitar

 

wooden drums

wooden boxes

made of sun and fire

strings singing africa

*   *   *   *   *

 

 
 
Bro. Yao is an alumni of Bowie State University and the University of Maryland College Park, where he received an M.F.A. in Poetry.  His work has been published in various journals and anthologies including Crab Orchard Review, African American Review, Soul Fires and Beyond the Frontier.

 

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