Perfect Black by Crystal Wilkinson

The title poem, “Black & Fat & Perfect” viewed as a narrative poem is the story of two lovers fixing breakfast together. But it is so much more than that. The juxtaposition of those three words is backed up – especially -  by two lines in the middle of the poem -  “& the dust floats into the light above them/a magical veil to cover their faces/a balm to heal all wounds.” Like the other poems here, an essay could be written about its nuances. That word “dust,” conjurs up both dirt and heritage, and  it both hides and heals them. The connections between all those words are pregnant with meaning. I am proud that I was one of the first editors to publish poems by Crystal Wilkinson, including a couple in this book, as well as one of the first to make her a featured author years before her first novel, The Birds of Opulence won the Ernest J. Gaines Award or she was hired to teach by the University of Kentucky. "If we are Black it should be Perfect. Crystal has shared a wonderful