Oath
A poem
Kevin Young is the author of seven books of poetry, including “Ardency: A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels” and “Jelly Roll,” a finalist for the National Book Award. His most recent book, “The Grey Album: On the Blackness of Blackness,” is a finalist for the 2013 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism.
Oath
Last’s a long
year of loss. Now winter
we hope
to rename early spring—
the cardinals keeping
watch through rain.
Though the cold
start your toes
& find your lonely bones
soon even those
can grow.
And tomorrow
this smidge of sun—
shine it down
into your mouth,
the fog of breath
rising, your right
hand raised! Lift
this lilting tongue.
