Kai Black fell in love with poetry in their first semester in our program. They will be graduating with a book of poetry next year. Kai just published two poems, “Lake Peace” and “Fleeting Beauty,” in Bristlecone Firesides. Congratulations, Kai!

They have a few more recent publications, one of which is included below. You can keep reading on their student page, which is linked in below. It includes far more information.

Lake Peace

This is what September should be:
The chittering in the leaves by groggy animals.
Placed neatly in the middle of death, a pocket of life, thrives.

Still waters and hushed breezes,
Rustic brown leaves,
Toasted cream trees,
Muffled voices echo from car radios, tired staff members “lunching.”

Not just cold calloused rain.
And I’m reminded of what vitality looks like.
At the beginning of December, everything soaked in golden rays.

Fleeting Beauty

everything beautiful should stay that way forever
in a bottomless sea of stars
the skies blush pink
the waters weep teal
green fades slowly from the land

Kai Black is a Black Queer Nonbinary MFA Creative Writing Student at MIU, in Fairfield, IA, where they study Poetry and Speculative Fiction. They are also a blogger for their personal blog “The Lazy Hoe” and a social commentator on all things sex, entertainment, social issues, and anything that affects their identity and navigation in this world. You can follow them on Twitter @TheLazyHoeKai or IG @TheLazyHoe. This is their debut publication.

You can read more of Kai’s recent publications and events on their student page here.