A Gathering of the Tribes

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Latasha Diggs

somewhere else on the other side of nowhere

 

we, 

during dry seasons, in stride w/ clavé Algerian, may taste test makamba. in 
here ching ching attracts extravaganza phenomena. lesser seen the 
derelict barge. oceans been blacker than Vanta. urban like knish. memory 
for fortunate figurines of preach. near ships, emerald city night shifts. of 
what’s evicted right there, endangered declaratives underwater, as the 
lighting strikes offshore. loas redu. sound clash in steel pan yard

yardie boys preach beetroot soup, cinderblocks canary;
devil’s lettuce blazed up sermons make lazy sky watchers. 
hear ye shoreline guardians, shame on the billions
who tried & dropped claimed we’d forget passage but…

we. oui
lord from the waterside, subterranean deep divers.
didn’t we once grind gritty past that there pier’s ridge? in 
the nowhere a homecoming for Drexciya’s divinity. the 
the moment babies bide here, butternut hues to Atlantis. the alley 
of living myths can’t sing swing low for free so pay a mofo. truth inside

we enchanted grenades by golly
sweet bounce of shells overboard cause ‘everywhere comes from a dream’ in 
panther. thunder thunder. greeting claps can’t cheat the 
elegy of gospel church vanishings. so far, somewhere silicon long data us. sweep 
over here, did you dare say leaping honey queens been altered? of 
what a joyful noise here on these ghosts of streets of another busy. streets 

for gangsta limb flotation. hoes & they pimps. que rico.
shalom. soirees outlaw. maldito. club kid wings a flutter. fish bait. 

that you know you think you know so what you know from here?

 


that’s what friends are for

the prettier the hefty the brick
in memorial thank them all
the brick,    the fist,    the fingernails
the foot. thank them for this foundation.
distaste for an eye color no one asked for.
how many times the careful aim of bottles & kick balls
wore out your vision. gratitude for their hefty brutality.
the overhead of jovial slander. how the overheard, minor string of 
compliments gifts your gums w/ copper tang. pretty equates to malice.
careful now. don’t let them hear you say thank you. 

the prettier the stingier shares now & laters or lemon heads.
accept the clinch, the slow loose long nailed apex slither
who can be trusted 
in tribute horde their smiles, their gropes 
the rooftops & basements. thank them for your celibacy.
to make sense or make it go far, far away
 who they is truly there for? you?
count on a single hand the times embrace;
a kind snuggle on sand under the night. countless rescinding of endearments
for fear of assault. pretty is push over
as cute is a bruise between wholesome holy alleys, an arcade & candy store.  
leave the clotted blood on the hands of girls.
quiet now. mustn’t let them see what hurt.

A writer, vocalist and performance/sound artist, LaTasha N. Nevada Diggs is the author of TwERK (Belladonna, 2013). Diggs has presented and performed at California Institute of the Arts, El Museo del Barrio, The Museum of Modern Art, and Walker Art Center and at festivals including: Explore the North Festival, Leeuwarden, Netherlands; Hekayeh Festival, Abu Dhabi; International Poetry Festival of Copenhagen; Ocean Space, Venice; International Poetry Festival of Romania; Question of Will, Slovakia; Poesiefestival, Berlin; and the 2015 Venice Biennale.  As an independent curator, artistic director, and producer, Diggs has presented events for BAMCafé, Black Rock Coalition, El Museo del Barrio, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, and the David Rubenstein Atrium. Diggs has received a 2020 C.D. Wright Award for Poetry from the Foundation of Contemporary Art, a Whiting Award (2016) and a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship (2015), as well as grants and fellowships from Cave Canem, Creative Capital, New York Foundation for the Arts, and the U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission, among others. She lives in Harlem and teaches part-time at Brooklyn College and Stetson University.