we are
prayer in the long boat
a rhizomatic scream
surrounded by the dark dagger
of the ocean
scripture
in its entirety
is anticipation of the lilt
and yet
there is no word
for the rhythm
we endure
across this dirtless moment
antibird, we sing like birds
textured and untrained
rugged the love
that claps
in the chasm of our black palms
Copyright © 2019 by Quenton Baker. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on August 28, 2019, by the Academy of American Poets.