dream where every black person is standing by the ocean

& we say to her
             what have you done with our kin you swallowed?

& she says
             that was ages ago, you’ve drunk them by now

& we don’t understand

& then one woman, skin dark as all of us
             walks to the water’s lip, shouts Emmett, spits

&, surely, a boy begins
              crawling his way to shore

Credit

Copyright © Danez Smith. Used with permission of the author.