This REFUSAL poem was originally accepted by POETRY magazine but was withdrawn by the author in protest.

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gladly i welcome the fact i have two names now
three if you count the way my love calls out
to me with a hummingbird flutter of her eyelashes
four since the sound of dap with an old friend
echoes distinctly enough to evoke its own title
five if baby from a Black woman in aisle nine
also counts as my name and all our names too
maybe there’s more than one way to pull love
from the corners of the room when your kin live
or have passed to a place too far for comfort
maybe nicknames are how we trick the wind
into sneaking travelers between realms
when i gained weight freshman year
my notfriends called me hulk or beast
ugly remnants of auction block dialogue
we can never name phenomenon accurately
while refusing to get to know them intimately
look how amerikkka calls everything except
its civilians cannon fodder when profitable
until external war stops hittin the spot
we are captives to a stealing language
we are a nation unearthing its invention
we are whatever we answer to and answer for