By W. T. Joshua

“…We are also mercenaries, dictators, murderers, liars. We are human, too.” -James Baldwin‬
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1.‬‭ Two men sit tucked against the outer walls of a county jail. Oklahoma shadows deflect all‬ surveillance as the younger awaits rescue. Barry. He knows that soon, a champagne ‘73 Bel-Air‬ will cross over the horizon, and it will mean victory. The elder hasn’t‬‭ seen this side of the wall for‬ 100 years‬‭. Pappy. He knows that freedom is only a joyful tale away.‬

‭2.‬‭ It goes something like this: Three brothers mourn home’s loss. Trot, step, slide, smooth their‬ way through muck. Bear. Fox. Rabbit. Slink between high rises beneath smokey moon. A‬ trumpet undulates against the treacherous chamber of Harlem. The goal: strike it big. Abide‬ by one law:‬‭ play.‬

‭3.‬‭ Brother Rabbit: mean. I really mean it, too. You can tell the brother means business. All respect‬ to his company, though. Brother Bear, big as he is? Imposing. That’s expected. Preacher Fox.‬ Talks in circles, between guileful and cunning, coy-like. But it’s Rabbit. In his two-piece suit,‬ soft vocal tone, gift-of-gab, shit-eating grin, slingin’ blades into abrasive pimps while evading‬ death, he reveals himself as the ultimate threat. It’s Rabbit.‬

‭4.‬‭ Where I come from, if something good happens to you unexpectedly, folks say something like,‬ “Aye, get it how you live it.” Which is to say, we have been granted a blessing, and it is in‬ accordance with us‬‭. Which is to say, “Beloved, you have been blessed simply because you are.”

‭5.‬‭ While in the custody of cult leader, Savior (aka Black Jesus), for stealing funds from the “black‬ revolution,” a lackey says‬‭ the trouble with you Blacks‬‭ is you’re too dumb to know when you’re in‬ big trouble.‬‭ The good brother Rabbit, having seen the theatrics of this pompous paragon, grins‬ briefly before truly performing. He knows they are lawless; that they will do what he‬‭ fears‬‭ the‬ most. He knows he is in trouble. He knows that‬‭ he‬‭ is trouble. He knows that he knows, and‬ that they don’t.‬

‭6.‬‭ Don’t throw my bones over that window ledge,‬‭ he begs. To be shot, to be strangled.‬‭ I’m begging‬ ya, don’t throw me out that window…‬

‭7.‬‭ A mouth opens into the night’s doom. Rabbit sails through its jaws. A trash can jolts, shivers,‬ and shakes with impact. It is silent. As though time is no longer ours. Nothing is…‬

‭8.‬‭ …cause I’s born and raised in the garbage can!‬‭ Rabbit, emerging from the trash bin outside the‬ first-floor window, elbows perched upon the ledge. Savior and company aghast, mouths open.‬

‭9.‬‭ As tarred mobsters learn at the end of this film, you cannot teach death to those who have lived‬ their lives as effigies. You cannot spook those who have learned to laugh in the face of whatever‬ form death may take when it arrives. Be it a barfight, betrayal, an open window, or an‬ assassination, no dark brothers perish in the underbelly of this debauchery.‬‭ I may sound like‬ I’m lippin’ and might be slippin’. But on your head, I’m gonna be whippin’.‬‭ Those playing the‬ game pimp it pliable: a floorboard launches a henchman into ceiling fan decapitation, a‬ “groovy grave” doubles as a dancefloor, and the underdog chants “I is the greatest” while in the‬ palm of Miss America’s hand.‬

‭10.‬‭ Under bullet rain in dry heat, Preacher and Sampson do arrive in dramatic fashion. Barry‬ manages to make it safely and, in a swift improvisation, so does Pappy.‬

‭11.‬‭ In this world, Black brothers punch over their weight.‬

‭12.‬‭ In this world, Black fathers prophesy their victories, and they do, in fact, win in the end.‬

‭13.‬‭ The goal from the beginning is simple: strike it big.‬

‭14.‬‭ Who said we couldn’t laugh all the way there?

Black Poetry Review Issue 4 (2023)

Bio: W.T. Joshua is a poet and photographer from Buffalo, New York.