Something Had to Be Done
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUP- Something Had to Be Done
And it worked. The box held the wingsand the girl barely noticed the nubs risingfrom where her shoulder blades curved in.Placed under a bed, the box causedhardly any dreams, though the rattle of itagainst the floor was described as unbearablefor a time. The burden passedfrom one townhome to anotheruntil eventually all forgot what was inside.But, what matters is that it worked.The clasp held fast and no one noticedhow wrong the empty sky had become. [End Page 76]
JAMAAL MAY is a poet and editor from Detroit, MI. His first book, Hum (Alice James Books), received the Beatrice Hawley Award, the American Library Association’s Notable Book Award, and an NAACP Image Award nomination. Other honors include the Indiana Review Prize, the Spirit of Detroit Award, and the Stadler Fellowship. Most recently, Jamaal has been awarded Rose O’Neill Literary House’s 2014 Cave Canem Residency, the 2014–2016 Kenyon Review Fellowship, and a Civitella Ranieri Fellowship in Italy. Jamaal’s poems appear in such publications as The New Republic, The Believer, Poetry, Ploughshares, NYTimes.com, and Best American Poetry 2014. With Tarfia Faizullah, he co-directs the Organic Weapon Arts Chapbook and Video Series.
