I Can't Breathe
By James E Cherry
(for Eric Gardner)
It has always been difficult
in this place, the air heavy
with the stench from the holes
of ships, suffocating as a plantation
with its rows of cotton 250 years long,
rancid as burnt flesh twisting
from the neck of trees, bitter
as water from white drinking fountains,
the back of the bus or the word “boy,” acrid
as fitting the description. Stop. Frisk.
History is a forearm pressed against the throat,
a knee jammed to the back, a head mashed
into the sidewalk and I have learned
from its austere lessons that eternity exists
between inhaling and the act of letting go.
James E Cherry is a poet, fiction writer, professor, literary activist, and impresario. He is the author of four books of poetry, two novels, and a collection of short fiction. His latest novel, Edge of the Wind, was re-issued in 2022 from Stephen F. Austin University Press. His latest collection of poetry, Between Chance and Mercy, is available from Willow Books. He has been nominated for an NAACP Image Award, a Lillian Smith Book Award, and a Next Generation Indie Book Award. His writing has been published in journals and anthologies both in the U.S. and internationally. Cherry has an MFA in creative writing from the University of Texas at El Paso and resides in Tennessee with his wife, Tammy.
“I Can’t Breathe” was published in Between Chance and Mercy, which was released by Willow Books on April 2, 2024. You can purchase a copy of the collection here.
