MICRO

Insomnia

By MALIK THOMPSON | 21 OCT 2024

By Viviane Sassen — Photo by Nicolas Gras on Unsplash

blue music
sweeps

itself
below

the floor
lush velvet

of her
voice

erupting
from the

radio
the rumble

of thunder
breaking

Anita’s song—

so much
rapture

pouring
from her

throat
it’s been

so long
the night

is long
too Anita

I see
the husks

of white
moths

who mistook
the lightbulb

for an
open flame

Malik Thompson (he/they) is a Black queer person from Washington, DC. His work has been published in the Cincinnati Review, Denver Quarterly, Poet Lore, and elsewhere. He has received fellowships and residencies from organizations including Cave Canem, Lambda Literary, the Anderson Center, and Sundress Publications. He can be found on Instagram via the handle @‌latesummerstar.

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