blackbird online journal spring 2002 vol.1 no. 1

POETRY

JAKE ADAM YORK

Bunk Richardson

Lynching photograph: February 11, 1906: Gadsden, Alabama

The rope grips the iron
where the iron bites into its hold.
A noose of rust, dried blood.

The dew has frozen in its twines,
thicker near the river,
from which it's climbed

weaker and weaker, all night long. 


return to top