This Is the Honey

By Mahogany L. Browne
via the Poetry Foundation

There is no room on this planet for anything less than a miracle

We gather here today to revel in the rebellion of a silent tongue

Every day, we lean forward into the light of our brightest designs

& cherish the sun

Praise our hands & throats

each incantation, a jubilee of a people dreaming wildly

Despite the dirt

beneath our feet

or the wind

pushing against

our greatest efforts

Soil creates things

Art births change

This is the honey

& doesn’t it taste like a promise?

Where your heart is an accordion

& our laughter is a soundtrack

Friend, dance to this good song—

look how it holds our names!

Each bone of our flesh-homes sings welcome

O look at the Gods dancing

as the rain reigns against a steely skyline

Where grandparents sit on the porch & nod at the spectacle

in awe of the perfection of their grandchildren’s faces

Each small discovery unearthed in its own outpour

Tomorrow our daughters will travel the world with each poem

& our sons will design cities against the backdrops of living museums

Yes! Our children will spin chalk until each equation bursts a familial tree

Rooted in miraculous possibilities

& alive

Illustration by Weshoyot Alvitre

A Note from the Editor
“In June, many celebrate rites of passage. This poem urges us to imagine and transform.” – Guest Editor Emily Hooper Lansana
^{Source: Poetry (March 2021)}

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This Is the Honey