It’s about You: On the Beach
By June Jordan
You have
two hands absolutely lean and clean
to let go the gold
the silver flat or plain rock
said
but hold the purple pieces
atom articles
that glorify a color
yours is orange
oranges are like you love
a promising
a calm skin and a juice
inside
a juice
a running from the desert
Lord
see how you run
your body is a long black wing
your body is a long black wing
Notes:
From Directed by Desire: The Complete Poems of June Jordan (2005), Copper Canyon Press, © 2005, 2023, June M. Jordan Literary Estate Trust. Reprinted by permission.
This poem is part of the portfolio “Our Way Home: June Jordan.” You can read the rest of the portfolio in the November 2023 issue.
Source: Poetry (November 2023)