A Renaissance Polymath (Multitudes)
By Roy Kinsey

Born out of line.
First day of the Autumn Equinox
Equal parts light and dark
Leaned out of Mama’s cervix despite Dr.’s and Nurses suggestion of abortion
“It’ll be either you or him” – and “you’re young”
“you can always try again,”

And in that time my father, who once in his life called himself an atheist
had enough knowing
and my parents who’d met at the People’s Palace
Downtown Chicago
And whose first date was Purple Rain (reign, appropriate)
Would raise me up a royal saying the crown was already paid for,
You just have to put it on.

Grandma and Mama – the first ones to clap for me,
Put me in a place I didn’t belong,
A book.

When I learned to sound out and read words
it led me to reading vibes, and VIBE, The Source and then Source,
Hansberry, some Baldwin, and the room, and tarot, and dreams.

To read, and to READ, because Reading Came First,
And all my favorites, Malcolm, and Martin, and Kwame, and Bayard, spent a night in jail,
or was a banned author in the cells,
For if a caged human read those words they’d be angered to radicalism.
And open the source because not only did they not want us to read,
but definitely didn’t want us to tell.

Born against somebody’s law, a crime,
Toni narrated a dream of mine, and said,
“But this one,”
meaning I’m gon find a way to rebel, even if many times it would be against my beliefs and
myself, but it’s my nature.
Isn’t that life?
The suspense ticked, and I climbed down to the beach to retrieve a red fur that was a mile long
and came alive the harder I tugged at it
til I surrendered to my knowing, dropped it, and continued on my way,
Because sometimes we get in our own way.
Because isn’t that life?

From a long line of folks who had to learn to read braids in heads,
and read minds,
and read maps,
and read the room,
and read the land,
and the skies,
and the wind.
I’d come to understand intuition too is literacy.
As inheritance.

I wish I would let someone come between me and my (writes.)

First generation didn’t live in the projects
Tryna get mind straight untangle the process
Didn’t stay in my place but that’s how i got knowledge
I’m the first gen graduated from college
Fifth generation up out the trade
Fourth generation up out the slave
Just got a whisper from my ancestor
She was like “oooh i was bout to say”

Tryna move trauma up out the way
Carried third generation to her grave
I would then shift what’s considered normal
The audacity to live black and gay
I would take heed what astrologers say
Your bloodline is tired they need time and some space
I know there’s some things that are stressing you
These choices you made they are blessing you
Half generation not breakin they back
I’m working smart turn a thought to a stack
Don’t work in no kitchen
Still work on the tracks
Swept the blunt residue off of my lap
Sweeping out needles and sweepin out crack
Swept out disease swept it right out the back
They wildest dreams Im like, how about that?
They wildest dreams Im like, how about that?

Mosque rise up from the desert floor
Projects high, 27 floors
Black folks one way or another
Swear for Lord Ima see my lord

Tryna stay grounded, second floor
Classmate fell from 11th floor
Big cousin thinkin bout settlin score
Don’t you dare knock at heaven’s door

Roy Kinsey
Commissioned by the Goodman Theatre, in collaboration with
The Poetry Foundation, in relation to their production of Inherit the Wind, for their 24/25 season
September 2024