Cameron Awkward-Rich

Cameron Awkward-Rich is the author of two collections of poetry: Sympathetic Little Monster (Ricochet Editions, 2016) and Dispatch (Persea Books, 2019). His creative work has been supported by fellowships from Cave Canem, The Watering Hole, and the Lannan Foundation.

Meditations in an Emergency

I wake up & it breaks my heart. I draw the blinds & the thrill of rain breaks my heart. I go outside.

I ride the train, walk among the buildings, men in Monday suits.

The flight of doves, the city of tents beneath the underpass, the huddled mass,

old women hawking roses, & children all of them, break my heart.

There’s a dream I have in which I love the world. I run from end to end like fingers through her hair.

There are no borders, only wind. Like you, I was born. Like you, I was raised in the institution of dreaming.

Hand on my heart. Hand on my stupid heart.

— Cameron Awkward-Rich