Welcome to “Poetry at The Arts Fuse.” A new poem every Thursday.

OFFICER WALKED INTO THE WRONG APARTMENT AGAIN

 
Don’t come up in here!
You ain’t invited to the cookout.
There is an over-abundance of love,
hymns, and mythical negro
spirituals in this home. A friend
asked me did you see the video?

If you’ve seen one, you’ve sensed
them all. I responded No, but I am
still writing the same damn poem though —
a vicious, cruel poem, a waste
land, a heap of deepfaked images.
Knock, knock. Is it me you’re looking
for? No more fear in me. Freedom is
as moral as tyranny. Please don’t kill

these vibes. Tonight it smells like
the only ethereal glow radiating
is the bulb above the stove. We are
at the end of the night, gently
receding into the light. Do you hear
the crushing thunder an index
finger makes or do you see
that last fleeting blaze?

Donald Vincent is the author of Convenient Amnesia, published by Broadstone Books in 2020.He is also known as Mr. Hip, a music recording artist with music available on all streaming platforms. Originally from the Southeast sector of Washington, DC, he currently lives in LosAngeles and at www.hidonaldvincent.com

Note: Hey poets! We seek submissions of excellent poetry from across the length and breadth of contemporary poetics. See submission guidelines here. The arbiter of the feature is the magazine’s poetry editor, John Mulrooney.

— Arts Fuse editor Bill Marx