Thank you to everyone who joined us for this session!

Our text for this session was “the bullet was a girl” by Danez Smith, posted below.

Our prompt was to begin your writing with “In another life…”

More details on this session will be posted, so check back!

Participants are warmly encouraged to share what you wrote below (“Leave a Reply”), to keep the conversation going here, bearing in mind that the blog of course is a public space where confidentiality is not assured.

Also, we would love to learn more about your experience of these sessions, so if you’re able, please take the time to fill out a follow-up survey of one to two quick questions!

Please join us for our next session Wednesday March 24th at 12pm EDT, with more times listed on our Live Virtual Group Sessions page.

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the bullet was a girl by Danez Smith


the bullet is his whole life.
his mother named him & the bullet

was on its way. in another life
the bullet was a girl & his skin

was a boy with a sad laugh.
they say he asked for it— 

must I define they? they are not
monsters, or hooded or hands black

with cross smoke.
they teachers, they pay tithes

they like rap, they police—good folks
gather around a boy’s body

to take a picture, share a prayer.
oh da horror, oh what a shame

why’d he do that to himself?
they really should stop
getting themselves killed


Copyright © 2015 by Danez Smith. 
Originally published in Poem-a-Day 
on September 3, 2015, 
by the Academy of American Poets