Wild Beauty

Such a wild beauty 
extracted from black ashes (echo) 
A series of calculated crashes 

I simply
call them romances.  

I photograph you in my bed in the morning 
I miss you and you never leave 
Your scent remains, unbelievably 
I pray to all the Gods 
and my lies still don’t believe in me. 

You dance inside the snow 
Slush beneath your boots 
We talk philosophy and hardcover books 
Sometimes i find the heart you took and carry 
It around, a handsome crook 
A savior among a crown 
of thorns and petals never worn 
Of flowers dead and letters never sent 

Did you see the way the summer wept 
Did you feel my bones break 
                                   inside your hands

? 

How fragile are the strong and mad
Who dare to wrap themselves in flags

Sewn by slaves and walked over graves (echo)
Jessica, you say, you must behave. 

Yourself. I don’t know what to do with wealth 
Cept spend it on a love affair or place bright flowers 
In my hair. 

Just tell me what color I should wear to a funeral
                                with no people there? 

Bodies asleep deep in my chest 
Kiss me, since we are all that’s left 
In love, in fear, scared half to death 

Humans aren’t so interesting my son insists 
We have no wings. No power beyond our century 
We are given less, and still we sing. 
We dress the part 
I keep the veil, and pawn the rings. 

I want to steal Saul’s new hat and Dante’s bright green boots 
My fashionable brothers. 

You. Brooklyn bridge. I am hula     hoop 
Swirling dervish in a perfect suit 
Oh my love, my memory swoons. 

Such a wild beauty extracted from black ashes (echo) 
A series of calculated crashes 
I simply call them     beautiful massive 
Oh wait, I believe I wrote romances. 

Protecting me from the brutality, the wounded savage 
You, that’s me. Pointing fingers deliciously. 
Baby, please hold onto me. 

I only want love to hold me for ransom. I know he is. 
They are all so handsome. Perhaps, a very good looking cancer. 
I call your name, pray you don’t answer. 

Such a wild 
           beauty.

Copyright © 2024 by jessica Care moore. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on February 23, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets. 

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“I wrote the poem, ‘Wild Beauty,’ in the middle of the night. I was balancing heartbreak, isolation, friendship, and a longing for true love. I’d been reading a lot of Sylvia Plath and experimenting with the sound of my poems. They changed during the pandemic. I changed. Every line is more intentional. The visual quality of the poem was inspired by Virgil Abloh’s gorgeous short film, Peculiar Contrast, Perfect Light— solace and sadness. It was a difficult time for me, lots of loss, and still, I was searching for beauty, for love. I loved seeing my artist family, Yasiin Bey and Saul Williams, in the film, and I put them in the poem. I missed being connected to poets, to people. ‘Wild Beauty’ is one poem that led to my full experimental opera, the title inspired by the last book that Ntozake Shange signed for me before she passed away. The original wild beauty.”
—jessica Care moore