if black were a river, it would be tainted water //
dumping ground for anything not clean // placed
in the projects of Flint // filtered until white in
parts of Detroit // left muddied in other // funny
thing having something so needed left toxic // not
like they ever gave a shit about anything they
couldn’t see a reflection in // if black were a river,
it would be giving // it would learn from the
lineage of the ocean that feeds it // it would tell
children to stand at the edge and stick their toes in
// promise nothing there bites // we are the thing
stepped in and then discarded // centuries of
drowning bodies relearning to tread again
Jason B. Crawford is black, bi-poly-queer, and a damn force of nature. In addition to being published in online literary magazines, such as High Shelf Press, Wellington Street Review, Poached Hare, The Amistad, Royal Rose, and Kissing Dynamite, he is the Chief Editor for The Knight’s Library. His chapbook collection Summertime Fine as a Short List selection for Nightingale & Gale. Jason is also the recurring host poet for Ann Arbor Pride.