Clint Smith’s free verse poem considers the possibilities of selfhood, poetry, and connection. He models it after the work of poet Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib. The speaker repeats the word maybe throughout the poem to begin several lines. He begins, “Maybe I come from the gap / between my father’s teeth” (99) and considers the role of that dark space. 

He compares the marginalization of black people with the margin on a piece of paper and expresses fear about readers’ perceptions of the work of black poets. The pervasive, community-wide fear of death might forestall loneliness. The speaker expresses dueling affection and revulsion for his own flesh. He wonders if he escapes from love to shield people from the darkness “when all they have to do is close their eyes” (100).