the bullet is his whole life.
his mother named him & the bullet
was on its way. in another life
the bullet was a girl & his skin

was a boy with a sad laugh.
they say he asked for it -

must I define they? they are not
monsters, or hooded or hands black

with cross smoke.
they teachers, they pay tithes

they like rap, they police - good folks
gather around a boy's body

to take a picture, share a prayer.
oh da horror, oh what a shame

why'd he do that to himself?
they really should stop
getting themselves killed


About this poem
"This poem came while I was thinking about the casual nature with which many media outlets and people talk about the death, murder and oppression of black Americans. It worries me how regular black murders have become in our vocabulary, so much that we speak of these maddening acts of violence as if there is destiny or tradition at play. I won't pretend like violence against the black bodies isn't an American tradition and sickness, but I refuse to deem it destiny or incurable. This poem is as much a true feeling as it is a complete lie."
-Danez Smith

About Danez Smith
Danez Smith is the author of "[insert] boy" (YesYes Books, 2014). He is an M.F.A. candidate at the University of Michigan and lives in Ann Arbor, Mich.


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The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day[at]poets.org.


(c) 2015 Danez Smith. Originally published by the Academy of American Poets, www.poets.org. Distributed by King Features Syndicate