The Dead Dozens
By Saeed Jones
Your grief is so heavy,
when we lowered the coffin,
all the pallbearers fell in too.
Your grief is so heavy,
when you cried your last goodbye, the end
of the world said “nigga, get off me!”
You love your mama so much,
Freud came back from the dead
just to study your sorry ass.
You love your mama so much,
when she died, our mamas died too.
Some of our favorite aunties caught strays.
I miss you so much,
I don’t even use the word “hello” anymore.
Now, I greet everyone with “good-bye.”
I miss you so much,
sometimes I go to strangers’ funerals
and eulogize your ghost.
Your ghost cries so loud
our ancestors keep haunting me
to complain about the noise.
Your ghost cries so loud
I took my Black ass to a Klan rally
for some candle-lit peace and quiet.
Copyright Credit: Saeed Jones, "The Dead Dozens" from Alive at the End of the World. Copyright © 2022 by Saeed Jones. Reprinted by permission of Coffee House Press, www.coffeehousepress.org.
Source: Alive at the End of the World (Coffee House Press, 2022)