Malcolm X, August 1952
i suppose i should be
grateful to the white man
letting me out. where can
a black man in america go?
i stand with the prison in
my shadow. elijah muhammad
teaches us that we are not
thieves. we are the lost ones
who have been stolen.
allah bless my tongue as it
prepares to heal. there are
so many who are in need of
the message. i feel this
country changing. the cross
no longer ours to bear.
Notes:
“Malcolm X, August 1952” is reprinted from First Light: New and Selected Poems (Black Classic Press, 1994) and is part of the folio “E. Ethelbert Miller: Friendship Is What Keeps Us Whole.” Read the rest of the folio in the November 2025 issue of Poetry.
Source: Poetry (November 2025)