Our People II

All cousins know the electric slide/ how to spell/despite the stink of it/chitterlings or chitlins/the odor of pig feet or catfish under a steam of vinegar/ believe blood is the most important thing/bring family up for better or worse/better the family or bemoan who just won’t do right/ learn early the power fist/dap/pound/and running man/invent glorious ways to say “brother” with intricacies of hands/we cool/give elders their due/cull histories in quilts/set records/set beats/set rights/set Black Jesus/love our tannin skin/drown yowls in jazz/ watch blocks bristle heat/in the hundreds/it’s past sundown/Mecca’s everywhere now.