after & before

By Danez Smith

war is war’s consequence
lovelessness is war’s condition
war is war’s petri dish
war is love’s cancer
love is war’s victim
warlessness is love’s pipe dream
love is war’s antonym
war is love’s necessity
war is love’s sister
war is love’s mission
love is not innocent
love is war’s finally
war is war’s destination
war is war’s philosophy
love is war’s superior
war is love’s tomb
war is love’s cocoon
love is war’s afterlife
love is war’s daughter
no more war no more war
we don’t need
if not love’s catalyst
love’s midwife
love’s turbulent mother
& healed brand
war’s scarred belly
where love was

Danez Smith, “after & before” from Bluff. Copyright © 2024 by Danez Smith. Reprinted with the permission of The Permissions Company, LLC on behalf of Graywolf Press, graywolfpress.org.