An Island in the Stream
- Kinsman Quarterly
- Jul 27
- 2 min read
by Akin Jeje
No man is an island,
even on Mississippi’s Gulf Coast,
unless, if cast adrift,
he submerges, then floats,
becoming another of
Mississippi’s ghosts.
July 4th was Independence Day,
From the nation which they almost broke.
Dem good ole boys said he wanted to stay
an island, didn’t return,
later found face-down,
on the shores of the Horn,
early Monday morn.
Sounds like whistlin’ Dixie,
singing,
and we rely on each other, nuh-huh,
from one brother to another,
nuh-huh.
Only one brother on the boat,
left adrift without his phone,
erased of social media posts,
with other Mississippi ghosts.
July 4th, 250 years of independence,
just 100 years before, could this have
been a sentence, suspended
on a lamppost, or roasted
even darker at the barbecue?
Instead, something lies submerged,
sans cellphone, without shoes.
Mama an’ Daddy lock in grieving,
while receiving condolences
from families who may just know
what happened.
Torn from an illusion of safety,
they embrace, still grapplin’,
“He was just with us,
How could this…?”
Investigations and recriminations
sweep the entire nation,
but what should have been celebration,
just released Mississippi’s spectral hosts.
“I Have A Dream” just became
another Island in the Stream.
Kinsman Quarterly’s literature director Akin Jeje is a Nigerian-Canadian poet living in Hong Kong who has published internationally. His debut poetry collection, Smoked Pearl, was longlisted for the 2009 International Proverse Prize and published in 2010. His recent poem, "Ping Shan Heritage Trail," was featured in the WHERE ELSE: An International Hong Kong Poetry Anthology (April 2023). Jeje has completed another poetry manuscript, write about here, and is working on a novel titled Maroon. He is also a regular contributor to Kinsman Quarterly and Cha: An Asian Literary Journal.
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