to be considered before inviting everyone to The Cookout™

Rasheed Copeland

the gone did not go so that we’d endure
plucking grapes from the potato salad
we did not stretch Frankie Beverly’s voice
like a tent across this humble meadow
of amber folk sipping gold sun through skin
rejoicing over their continued breath
just for you to invite anyone in
able to pause the bloody legacy
and distract your eyes with a flimsy act
you break all the unwritten covenants
forged in the saved language of unmarked graves
those called to eat are those who starved with us
and not those whose mouths still water
when watching the grill’s flame lick Uncle’s arm

Copeland reads "to be considered before inviting everyone to The Cookout™."

About This Poem

“The poem was spawned while reflecting on the communal nature of suffering. Within the communities that raised me, suffering has always possessed an unspoken sacredness. In many regards, it has been a key factor in forging family, kinship, and allyship. It has possessed both pain and fortune. With this poem, I’m attempting to caution against offering the spoils of our suffering to those who’ve shown no true investment in the community.”
—Rasheed Copeland

Rasheed Copeland is the author of The Book of Silence: Manhood As a Pseudoscience (Sergeant Press, 2015). The recipient of a 2016 and 2017 DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities Fellowship awards, he lives in Washington DC.

Photo Credit: Naji R. Copeland

"When the Burning Begins" by Patricia Smith

"cutting greens" by Lucille Clifton

"About the Bees" by Justin Phillip Reed

February Guest Editor: Clint Smith

Thanks to Clint Smith, author of Counting Descent (Write Bloody Publishing, 2016), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month’s weekdays. Read a Q&A with Smith about his curatorial approach this month and find out more about our guest editors for the year.

Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.

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