Deonte Osayande
America
I, too, sing America.
Way down south in Dixie
(Break the heart of me)
They hung my black young lover
To a crossroads tree.
I am the darker brother.
They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Way down south in Dixie
(Bruised body high in air)
I asked the white lord Jesus
What was the use of prayer
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen”,
Then.
Way down south in Dixie
(Break the heart of me)
Love is a naked shadow
On a gnarled and naked tree
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed—
I too, am America.
—Submitted on 11/10/2020
Author’s Note: “America” is a contrapuntal erasure of “I, too” and “Song for the Dark Girl” by Langston Hughes.
Deonte Osayande is a writer from Detroit, Mich. His books include Class (Urban Farmhouse Press, 2017), Circus (Brick Mantle Books, 2018) and Civilian (Urban Farmhouse Press, 2019. His poems appear in Button Poetry and other journals. Osayande has represented Detroit at four National Poetry Slam competitions. Manager of the Rustbelt Midwest Regional Poetry Slam and Festival for 2014 and 2018, he is a professor of English at Wayne County Community College.
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