Marlin M. Jenkins
“Look inside of my soul and you could find gold and maybe get rich.”
- Kendrick Lamar
There was a time / I tried
to melt down my soul / to sell
its gold myself. / I don’t remember
how I planned to spend / the money
but I remember / the slice
of the flame, / the bubbling skin,
the smell of my brown / flesh separating
toward heaven. / Tell me –
does it count if I gain / the world
by selling my soul / to the highest bidder?
Tell me – / what does it profit a man
to keep his soul / bottled like a firefly
with a sealed lid? / I have found
death’s sting – / it’s here in the spaces
between my ribs / ready to be struck
like calf / or tablet, taken
in my sleep, / ready to be held.