Working Title by Mahogany l. browne Lyrics

The name of this poem is:

         How to write a poem about ferguson



         Or

The name of this poem is:

         How a black man dies and no one makes a sound



         Or

The name of this poem is:

         Everywhere is Ferguson


         Or

The name of this poem is:

         When the moonrise sounds like gunshots



         Or

The name of this poem is:

         How to teach your babies to walk and not run, ever.



         Or

How to teach your babies to carry a wallet the size of your smile



         Or

The name of this poem is:
         How not to smile & make yourself a target



Or

The name of this poem is:
         How to write a poem the same size of Emmett Till's lungs

         after they pulled him from the Tallahatchie River



         Or

         How to write a poem about America’s thirst



         Or

The name of this poem is:

         Black blood'll keep you thirsty


         Or

The name of this poem is:

         I'm still thirsty, An American Horror Story



         Or

         How to write an escape route from a tornado



         Or

         How to write an escape route when the tornado’s name

         is Stop & Frisk



         Or

         How walk the streets without fearing someone will cut your neck open



         Or

         How to walk into a boardroom without fearing someone will cut your legacy open



         Or

         How to walk without asking for it



         Or

         How to walk without asking for it



         Or

         How to determine what “asking for it” looks like



         Or

         How “asking for it” feel like a church bombing



         Or

The name of this poem is:

         How to not intimidate nobody in 3 small steps



         Or

         How to use your science books as Teflon

         & how that still might not work



         Or

The name of this poem is:

         How to write about the one time you held a gun



         Or

The name of this poem is:

         How to write about the one time you had a gun pointed to your face



         Or

The name of this poem is:

         How to write about the one time you had a gun pointed to your face



         Or

The name of this poem is:

         How to write about the one time you had a gun pointed to your face



         Or

The name of this poem is:

         How to write about the one time you had a gun pointed to your face



Or

How to write a poem from the perspective of a cop's gun

<          > a cop's tazer

<          > a cop's gun

<          > a cop's boot

<          > a cop's baton



         Or

The name of this poem is:

         How to write poem without r e p e a t i n g yourself

No, the name of this poem

Ain't got no name          It's a serious of numbers

The numbers warn me sweetly:          “You should be afraid of having a son”