the fare-well letters [excerpt]
dear ink jet,
black fast. greasy lightning.
won't smear. won't rub off.
defense: a visual screen: ask
an octopus (bioaquadooloop).
footprints faster than a speed-
ing bully, tracking dirt all
over the page. make every
word count. one. two. iamb.
octoroon. half-breed. mutt.
mulatto. why are there so few
hybrids on the road? because
they can't reproduce. trochee
choking okay mocha. ebony,
by contrast, says so much.
From the new black, published by Wesleyan University Press. Copyright © 2011 by Evie Shockley. Used by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.