The Virus

“The Tradition“ by Jericho Brown (2015)

This is the title poem of the collection in which “The Virus” also appears. Both poems present the cultivation of flowers as symbolic of any creative and life-affirming activity, in contrast to forces of destruction and death, whether biological (the virus) or social (racism). In “The Tradition,” the names of flowers are gradually replaced by the names of black men killed by the police.

“Bullet Points“ by Jericho Brown (2019)

This poem, also from The Tradition, addresses police violence more directly. The speaker alludes to situations in which black individuals who lose their lives during encounters with police officers or while in police custody are depicted as causing their own deaths. He then asserts that, should he die in a way that involves the police, we could be sure that he did not die by his own hand.

“Duplex“ by Jericho Brown (2019)

This is an example of a poetic form Jericho Brown invented by bringing together characteristics of the sonnet, the ghazal (an Arabic poetic form), and the blues. It consists of seven couplets, comprising fourteen lines (like in a sonnet). Each line is a variation of the preceding line, and the last line is a variation of the first.