E.J. Antonio
Matriarch
someone sang for me
from behind her teeth
the sound of blood’s rush
called me from myself into myself
a body an earth song
of love & bitterness
someone sang for me
deep in Virginia pines
a hymn razored the sky vermillion
pushed the wind
to shove me down a snake-filled road
fighting for my life
someone sang for me
pulled all my am & am not
from origin’s darkest beginnings
melody flowed through me
planted itself in me
i heard a soprano rustling leaves
in my ear
someone sang for me
rattled the question in my voice
shook loose words from my hands
the pine cones buried in Virginia woods
i’ve always known
someone sang for me
& the oaks shivered agreement
sacrificed their pulp for me
to write down all the songs
someone sang for me
as i will sing for her
the someone of me
coming after me
E.J. Antonio has received fellowships in Poetry from the New York Foundation for the Arts, the Hurston/Wright Foundation, and the Cave Canem Foundation. She is the author of two chapbooks, Every Child Knows; Premier Poets Chapbook Series 2007 and Solstice, Red Glass Books, 2013. She is a founding member of the Jazz & Poetry choir Collective. Her CD, Rituals in the marrow: Recipe for a jam session was released in the fall of 2010.