The future was better before
- The future was better before
For talking about problemsof the body, the wordcannot forget where it's been:
How does it hurtwhen you see
black men runningso hard to decideon a face in the dark
Emmett's still the batteredflag for our enduringregime of truth, playing
with the language we wasnot allowed, for natureand law, safe-
guarding the old secrets.
When are we gonna get tiredbecoming genre and cower
in the helpless terrorof being just one person;
All my life I've wanted skinlike that [End Page 123]
Isaac Pickell grew up in the paperback section of his father's used bookstore in Ann Arbor, MI and is currently a PhD student down the road in Detroit, where he mostly worries and teaches. His poetry has appeared in Cimarron Review, Fence, The Journal, The Missouri Review, Ninth Letter, and various corners of the internet.
