Two Poems by Nicholas Goodly, Five Drawings by Jonathan Adams

Curated by CC Calloway and Bradley Marshall

 

 

 

 

Nicholas Goodly

 

Angel Number 22

 

1. you are running black blood

2. you lack the blunt weight of anyone

3. you run through the rug and ruin it

4. you know love by running your fingers through it

5. you forgot what black is

6. you love runny cracked eggs

7. you run over black road

8. you run with limbs you know nothing to do with

9. you rung the black from your gloves

10. you get nothing back

11. you are black from above

12. you are running out of loves to turn your back on

13. you make love like you don’t deserve it

14. you write like you don’t love it

15. you love your words and burn them

16. you light a book and hold it

17. you put your lips to old blood

18. you are making nothing from nothing

19. you burn the backs off your limbs

20. you must love it

21. you are turning back into yourself

22. you turn into black doves

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nicholas Goodly

 

First Poem  

 

I had ever written was about green bug

because I painted one at school or the painting

came later to go with the poem or the poem

was about gold and was printed in rainbow letters

and the painting had a rainbow in it the picture

was a blue watering bucket a butterfly a sunset

made of orange and pink vertical stripes

and a purple rainbow and a rose or tulip

and the poem had a refrain it was a song

a song for class or I wrote it for my dance

teacher because she thought I was a poet

and I read it to the class or just to her she said

beautiful or thank you and the painting and poem

are in a frame together now and it matters

that where it all started was a good garden

 

 

 

 

__________________

 

Nicholas Goodly is a writer and artist living in Atlanta. They are the writing editor of Wussy Magazine, a Cave Canem fellow, author of the Georgia Writer’s Association guest blog Free Verse, and team member of the performing arts platform Fly on a Wall. Nicholas is a finalist for the 2020 Jake Adam York Prize, the runner-up for the 2019 Cave Canem Poetry Prize, and recipient of the 2017 Poetry Society of America Chapbook Fellowship.

Nicholas received a teaching fellowship and MFA from Columbia University, is a Spring 2020 Hambidge Creative Residency Distinguished Fellow, was a finalist in Tupelo Press’ Four Quartets 2020: Poetry in the Pandemic, received second place prize for the 2018 New South Poetry Contest, was a semi-finalist in the 2018 Discovery/ Boston Review Contest, finalist in the 2017 Tennessee Williams Poetry Contest, and finalist in the 2016 Academy of American Poets Prize. They are a Best of the Net 2020 Nominee, and Critic’s Choice for Best Poet 2018 in Creative Loafing Atlanta.

To see more work by Nicholas Goodly visit their website: https://www.nicholasgoodly.com/

 

Jonathan Adams is an artist from Bristol, VA/TN. He earned his BFA in drawing from East Tennessee State University and his MFA in Interdisciplinary Studio Art from Rutgers University. His work has been exhibited in the lower eastside 21 Ludlow st, The Brooklyn Army Terminal under the contemporary artist Kara Walker, Crosstown Arts in Memphis, Chautauqua Visual Art galleries, Wiregrass Museum of Art and was a Part-time Lecturer in Drawing at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. Adams’ currently lives with his family in VA/TN and loves noodles. View more from Jonathan Adams at www.thejonathanadams.com