I am the red talisman
of a greater America
and the test of its nation’s creed
I am the green amulet
in the crown
of the Statue of Liberty
I am the diatribe
stomping tribal
djembe drumming
elephant stomping
across the land
for water for the
children
I am the vast blue-black darkness
necessary for America’s stars
to shine and wave

 

Deaundra Jackson is a 2023 MFA in Writing graduate of Sarah Lawrence College. Her work centers marginalized voices of the past. She has been published in the Rising Phoenix Review, Aunt Chloe Literary Magazine, and Beyond the Sea: An Eber & Wein Anthology. She enjoys hummingbird watching and music festivals.