Memoir of the Red X

June 27, 201215

after Hebru Brantley

 

When I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

Exodus 12:13

 

blood on the door.

red slashes in a white box.

a warning what lurks.

a warring. a target.

an invitation to squat.

a pyre to blaze. a death

knell for neighborhoods

south, west. marks the spot

families were, industry was.

illiterate’s autograph.

mark of danger. great

migration dream catcher.

promise breaker. temporary

detention center before

land grab. body count.

connotes new orleans

homes, haunted. ghosts

here. Malcolm’s memorial.

a red cross inverted

perverted. an emergency

no one scrambles to fix.