DRIP
for George Stinney, Jr.
It’s a fine spring day.
Not too hot, no rain.
Two scoops
of Alcolu’s finest sweet cream
just for you, little man.
Take your time,
enjoy the fat chill
of each lick
and don’t let nobody rush you.
No matter if you finish
before it starts to melt,
let the sugary expansion
run an opal river
down the dark bed
of your small arm.
Let it fall tiptiptip
to the stone floor
little man
like a milky deluge
and you, the little black god
of sweet cream rain
blessing the valley beneath you.
Quenton Baker is a poet and educator from Seattle. His current focus is the fact of blackness in American society. He is a 2015-16 Made at Hugo House fellow and a 2014 Pushcart Prize nominee. He is the author of This Glittering Republic, forthcoming from Willow Books in 2017.