A week of
traveling and my campaign fatigue grows heavy. The debate made me angry. The media
analyses made me angry. I railed and waged my own debate. Seemed like the world
agreed that President Obama wasn’t on his game. He was bored. He wasn’t
aggressive.
I disagreed. I
thought he was strategic. I thought he was presidential, relaxed, cool,
knowing. His mother was white, but somewhere along the way, President Obama
learned You Can’t Do What They Do.
Driving down 81
South from Upstate New York on the way back to our home in Carolina, I started
thinking about poetry. I’ve not really written poetry before, but the urge
needled me. I wanted a different way to express what is important to me, my
confusion about why people hate so strongly, and my disbelief that they feel
justified. Here are two poems that grew from that need to express and on which
to rest my campaign-fatigued brain. They leave me feeling vulnerable, though, and
I want to scream, “Draft!” Maybe after I post them, I’ll feel embarrassed. I
know they’ll change if I choose to continue to work on them. I’m still going to
post them because if we hide our vulnerability, real connections cannot be
formed. We can’t know about each other, other than what we assume, and we all
know how that usually goes. We remain segregated by choice.
Kisses
Both
his hands on my hips
My
arms circle his neck
Our
lips touch
Another
one, I say,
That
one was crooked
He
smiles
Our
lips touch again
That’s
a good one
We
stay embraced
Our
hearts push rhythmic pulses
Chest
to chest
My
day starts this way
Or
with two perfect kisses
Always
in the embrace,
Afraid
to part
I
squeeze tighter; he pulls my hips closer
The
way his skin smells
Sweet
and earthy
Spooned
at night
His
arm draped over the curve of my waist
I unfold
inside him
Half
Moon Cookies
Chocolate
cookies
Chocolate and vanilla frosting
Chocolate and vanilla frosting
Meet
in the middle
Look
like half moons
Fallen
into a cardboard box
Also
called
Black
and Whites
Integrated
in 1976
In
Upstate
New York
Procreated
in 1984
Black
and White times two
Beige
babies
Our
favorite bakery
Four
in a box
Size
of our family
Drive
down 81 South
Back
home
From
old home to now home
Neither
feels comfortable
Music
infused car
Exhaust
pipe spews the beat
Zoom
zoom
Sun
Mountain, Betty Carter, Robert Cray
Marcus
Miller, Steel Pulse
Lynn
August, Aquarium Rescue Unit
Angelique
Kidjo
Oranges,
reds, and yellows
Fires
on the hillsides
Hawks
circle
Cows
lounge
Chew
on Black and Whites
One
each
Tea
and soda
Somewhere
in Pennsylvania
Two
more down
Cross
the Mason Dixon Line
No
more Black and Whites
Hot
air balloon at dusk
Carolina
Blue down the way
Whistlin’
Dixie
No
integration cookies
Look
away! Look away!
Barack
Obama
Barack
Hussein
Obama
Hussein
Look
away!
Lazy,
disengaged
Back
to Kenya
Show
the birth certificate
Hussein
Barack
Hussein
Obama
Integration
President
Take
it back
Impeach
Obama
Take-take
Take
it back
Take-take
Take
back
America
I
wish I was in Dixie
Take
it back
Jesus
Loves You!
Centenary,
Baptist, Bethabara, Pinedale, Hope,
Grace
Jesus
Loves You!
I
approve this message
Tax
return, no return
Lies,
religion, and riches
Abominations
Amendment
One
Black
and Whites
Gay,
mixed race, Indian, Asian, Hispanic, Black
And
Whites
Post,
Po-Po, Post
Po-Po
Racialism
Po-Po
Post
Tobacco
Chew
it, smoke it, hang it on the wall
Unincorporated
annexation
Eugenics
Pro
Life
Legitimate
Rape
Vagina
vigil
Look
away!
Same
as it ever was, same as it ever was
Down
in the land of cotton
Look
away! Look away!
Strange
fruit
Stars
and Bars
Old
pickups
Handguns
Stand
your ground
Black
and Whites
Tick
tock
Glock
Stand
my ground
Integration
condemnation
Look
away! Look away!
Black
and Whites
Integration
vindication
Look
away!
Old
times they are not forgotten
Reynolds
built this city
We
now call home
Tar
heel, tar fingered
City
named for cigarettes
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