Dust-Dipped

We were wild children / we moved through space / like blades

We were tame children / we fell to sleep / like gunpowder

We were poor children / we ran to showers / like harvests

We were rich children / we clutched our towels / like fences

We were loud children / we bit and bickered / like mice

We were quiet children / we meditated / like drill sergeants

We were pious children / we read Marvel comics / like scripture

We were godless children / we claimed Christ healed / like Wolverine

We were stupid children / we plucked hot coal / like fruit

We were smart children / we hoarded fruit / like fossil fuel

We were lazy children / we lifted toothpicks / like javelins

We were sporty children / we evaded tests / like hurdlers

We were humble children / we studied stars / like afronauts

We were proud children / we graduated / like thunder gods

We were hopeful children / we charged out / like lightning

We were hopeless children / we fell to earth / like dust

Notes:

This poem is part of the folio “Freed Verse: A Reckoning of Black British Poets.” Read the rest of the folio in the September 2025 issue.

Source: Poetry (September 2025)