the Negro Poet

What does the Negro poet do upon entering the room? The Negro poet looks for him, her, they, them, he, she, who are willing to reciprocate by making eye contact with a smile, nod, a step forward to meet to greet; never to purposely glance away. Why must the Negro poet meet the feeling of awkwardness, hesitancy, apprehension? Why does the Negro poet appear translucent? There must be something said for the Negro poet’s transfiguration. Surely the Negro poet is not combustible. Fire will not shoot from the Negro poet’s eyes or nostrils. All the while the Negro poet will refuse to recite in blackface. The Negro poet will not scorch the room with verse possessing the fire and fury of Khaleesi’ dragons. The Negro poet will swim upstream and against the prevailing tide of being ‘the other.’ Once having exhaled poetic lyric, the Negro poet will still appear translucent, transfiguration the figment of preconceived misperception, preconception, and fear. However, the fragrance of the Negro poet’s poem remains, lingering, like pollen dusting the early arrival of spring. The poem, the Negro Poet.

© emmett wheatfall