In 2020, I wrote a poem for Juneteenth, which was later acquired by LBYR; our picture book, A Song for Juneteenth, was meant to come out last month but in March we learned that the illustrator had been arrested and so everything changed. The publication date has now been pushed to 2026 and award-winning illustrator Noa Denmon will be generating new art. Last year I wrote another poem for Juneteenth; I included it in Perennial and thought I’d share it today. It’s a tricky holiday for me…and one I’ve never celebrated. I’m writing another difficult poem today, hoping to clear some things before the summer solstice on Wednesday. If you celebrate Juneteenth, I hope you’re enjoying your festivities. You can find a conversation about my second Juneteenth poem over at Diverse Verse.