at cliff’s edge, wedged
between storm and rock, I strain to hear
notes played out of order
tossed across airwaves—
in a different state, women
keen at weapons raised
against babies: they know smiles
save no one in streets made black
by body armor
where boys trade
insults for entry wounds—
when sticks crack stone heads
I hear thunder: why are hearts
grown to be broken? Women
lament as they snatch at grace notes—still
in or out of tune—still will we
sing—still we will rage.
Jude Marr is a PhD candidate with a concentration in creative writing at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She is also poetry editor for the online journal r.kv.ry. Her poetry has appeared in The Cortland Review, Black Heart Magazine, and Cherry Tree among others, and her chapbook, Breakfast For the Birds, is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press in spring 2017. More information on Jude and her work can be found at http://www.judemarr.com
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