An Early Summer is a Troubled Thing

That night the sky mourned with us.

Rain poured, the city bathed in tears.

I awoke to a revengeful sun

Engulfing all of newark in heat

Which reminded me adam did eat the apple

And how death is man’s reparations to god.

April was getting ready to say its farewells but was forced out

Before being able to—

Like my brother.

And it wasn’t summer yet only it felt like it.

The way my skin blistered from the strength

Of yellow that covered a sky.

So I wondered if the bullet that made a home in my brothers body

Imitated the suns growing warmth.

On that day and the rest to come I learned grief

Really meant heat,

Which really meant

Misery,

Which actually was a just a funny way of saying

Life after you.

So now summer just be a cursed thing that lets all

I love go up in flames and returns it to me

In ash.

I am a 19-year-old black, queer, low income, college student. I am finding my voice and exploring my identity, through poetry. Often, I find myself examining my trauma, joy, and even the most mundane of parts of my life experience. through my writing, I hope to give these parts of myself a spotlight. My main goal is to write for myself.