[we are]

we are
prayer in the long boat
                                               a rhizomatic scream
                                               surrounded by the dark dagger
                                                                        of the ocean
                         scripture
                         in its entirety
                         is anticipation of the lilt
                                                   and yet
there is no word
for the rhythm
             we endure
             across this dirtless moment
                                                    antibird, we sing like birds
                                                    textured and untrained
             rugged the love
             that claps
in the chasm of our black palms

Copyright © 2019 by Quenton Baker. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on August 28, 2019, by the Academy of American Poets.