Colonize Me

By Benjamín Naka-Hasebe Kingsley

BenjamÍn Naka-Hasebe Kingsley's debut collection explores the experience of living as a Native American in today's America. From Nippon refugee who America caged. From Onondaga son who America imprisoned, who they couldn't board into whiteness. From Rust Belt trailers. From two wheelbarrow factory workers. From PA to LA to MIA to out here in West Baltimore. From counting every penny to carving the love of poems. From unheard prayers & these answered dreams. We are here. I am here. I am alive. Colonize me.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Saturnalia Books
• Release date: Mar 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781947817036

Book preview

—

Our Broke-Ass Ladder of Opportunity

or

The Block Boy Anthem

Streets raised me

I’ve heard old heads in the complex

say. It ain’t true:

tenant reality was complex

coloniesa project

after-project

of stairwells

our city’s stray

spine

of carpet

steps

& clawed doors

that apartmenthole

of families in infinitecells

far behind.

We grew

weed quick

on Wabash Ave

single stairwell    NO LOITERING signs

be damned

we shades

of six & seven

yearshappy

for forgottencopper

us browned boys

penny-rubbed

feather-headedcorn-cropped

buzzed-downfro’d-up

in new skin us boys raising each other

onto cardboard sleds

brown-knuckling

refrigerator boxes zippeddown them steps.

Our hunger

was the best

spice.

Flight

after flight

of stairs

zipped no snowno playground park

no guardianwho’d give us a gentle push.

We pushedhard

daily

until Cortel unzipped

the sleeve

of his left elbowhooked that thin trout skin

on the headof a nail

exposed

wriggling

we saw white

bonebeneath

the flash

of ligament twist

of tears & glittered fish

line of gums.

Wouldn’t be long before

red &blue would circle round

slow roll the block with the spangled

stars of his spotlights

so we flagged

him street side

hollered

Mister! Sir!for the first time

cop told uscall 911but we thought we had.

We thought we had

for the last time

until Shawn flewhigher

than any boy could

from top step

caught moreair

than any jet plane

we’d never ridden in

an ambulancebefore

the sun turned its

back

on our