the lougawou discusses curses
McKendy Fils-Aimé
the crossing
Jill Khoury
i couldn’t afford real magic
so i sought a back alley blessing
or curse. of course i brought lajan,
counted each gourde twice
but desire is its own currency
& i had none
to give her. yet she asked & asked
how a man might when he cannot see
beyond his own want. she a caplata
fluent in the tongue of take
i learned when i was still a boy
then mastered. persistence a river
dragging so many to my lips
i never noticed their drowning
until she pulled me close, so close
to her mouth i could see the sediment
muddied bones across the riverbed
& grieve those who once lay beneath
my selfish waters. she said you should want to
be wanted, but why would i want to swim
in a reckless current? i would’ve rather
been a cracked container of mercury
spreading ruin throughout her rivers,
so when i refused to empty myself into her
tributary, she wished me unquenched
& i only knew thirst. she wished me night
& i loved the moon. she wished me formless
& i forgot my skin. she wished me hunter
& everything was prey.
Mckendy Fils-Aimé is a New England based Haitian-American poet, organizer, and teaching artist. He has received fellowships from Callaloo, Cave Canem, The Watering Hole, and Periplus. Over the span of nearly two decades, Mckendy has represented New England in several regional and national poetry slams, performing on numerous semi-final and final stages. Mckendy’s work has been featured or is forthcoming in Best New Poets, Adroit, Muzzle, American Literary Review, the Academy of American Poets’ Poem-a-Day series, and elsewhere. His debut poetry collection, sipèstisyon, will be published by YesYes Books in 2026. Find Mckendy on Instagram and BlueSky.
Jill Khoury (she/her) is a queer, disabled poet and artist. She holds an MFA from The Ohio State University and edits Rogue Agent, a journal of embodied poetry and art. Her artwork has appeared in Killjoy, Brevity, and the Pittsburgh Art Vending Machine. Winner of the Gatewood Prize, her second full-length poetry collection earthwork is available from Switchback Books. Connect with her at jillkhoury.com or on Instagram.