~



is it my white male entitlement

    being forty years old

               having a degree in sociology

                               and anthropology



is it a lifetime of observations

           twenty-five years of poetry

                  constantly seeking new information

                           critically thinking



I am not saying I know better

or

that I can live the black or female

experience



I can say with full confidence

***** and ******

only serve to hold you down ~



when any people identify with a derogatory term
the mental anguish brings self-loathing
it is the backbone of the racist and sexist system
that you will willingly keep yourself
less ~



IT’S ABOUT POWER

OWNERSHIP

HOW DARE YOU WHITE MAN!!!






at the end of the day

       I can’t really help

                 being tired of bitten hands

                              I don’t really care to try



this is just some friendly advice

from the devil

from the root of your suffering

from a white man

who thinks he knows /

~



soothing fragrance        wafts



                          blooming        lavender




- Lovely spring day !

~


hard breathing       long night
repeat    repeat

she holds on
and I wait ~

sponge moisture
     cracked tongue
              injected pain meds

still, her will maintains ~

tears stream as I beg
your non-responsive body
   please     let      go

gurgles rise and fall
with slow chest movement

                in the quiet night
                       soft beeping in the distance
I see the truth

fear keeps you ~

bone fingers, cold and veiny
rest in my own

softly, I begin to tell you
not to be afraid

brother will be fine
I will be fine
your pets will be fine
the house
the yard
the tribe….

it was only 10 minutes down the highway
when the phone call came

when you let go

when you were no longer afraid ~



that was the moment I realized

I was afraid


        of       losing      you /

he sits angry
peering at faces
safe behind glass ~


language of confusion spews
double talk cross examined
fact checked by Christians ~


a nation on the verge
looks east and holds collective breathe
troll goddess versus the masked machismo ~


clinched fists slam faux velvet
then reach for scotch, neat…
alcohol blurs party lines /

~



thick

                    hide trembles


sluffed ice falls





                    miniature avalanche

                                      miniature horse   /

.

We lay in the soft grass

picking out shapes in the white fluffy clouds
as they wander across

a brilliant blue sky

You gaze above and whisper
“I have never seen anything more beautiful”

I stare at their reflection in your eyes and say,

“Neither have I”