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When the Ghosts Come Ashore
When the Ghosts Come Ashore
When the Ghosts Come Ashore
Ebook56 pages27 minutes

When the Ghosts Come Ashore

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Jacqui Germain’s poems in When the Ghosts Come Ashore situate St. Louis as the archetypal American city: it’s here she explores the intersections of race, gender, and violence, here she finds the ghosts of those who still hunger for freedom. But Germain still carves out space for love. As Phillip B. Williams writes of these poems, “Placelessness is the place, leaving only the unsafety of flesh as a hideout. Black presences break from the margins and pierce through these hard lyrics.â€
LanguageEnglish
PublisherButton Poetry
Release dateMar 21, 2020
ISBN9781943735167
When the Ghosts Come Ashore

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I first read this in one sitting, but I will be re-reading it slowly again soon. These poems are all powerful. I wanted to sit with the words longer. I recommend pausing after every poem to feel the weight. Can't wait to see what Germain gives us next.

Book preview

When the Ghosts Come Ashore - Jacqui Germain

Itis

SANKOFA

I   wrote  a  poem   once abo ut

black boys     disappearing right

out    of   the                  like   a   shut

mouth               a                     stream

of                         bullets right down

its throat.      All of t heir      black

boy   eyes   lik e                   b l a c k

rocks   staring   at    me    right off

the     page    like    they    wouldn’t

sink     if    I     dropped     them    all

in    a   r i v e r.   And I wonder if

it’s healthy to keep all these

ghosts     in    my    pocket.   All their

hands that                              you       can’t

see           but                                      they push

things around when you

                                                                         aren’t

even looking.    What     the     body

becomes when      it    carries    you    and     them.

How      your          bones        n e g o t i a t e

weight         and                    weightless,

learn    to       manage      the       absence

and     the homecoming      in every

reunion. We black folks who bend

words, folks who     celebrate the ghosts

that     show   up  

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