I like being called “brother”
by black men. I like walking past
Land of the Pharaohs
& being invited in by the brothers
to bless them with a poem.
“Brothers, ” I say, “brothers,
please, no keyboards, no congas,
let me lay something white & uptight
on you brothers.” I recite my poem
about Martians & Geiger counters,
its conclusion an ironic invitation
to Jesus to drop by some morning
for coffee. They hate it.
The brothers hate it
but they’re polite, not like Kerouac
at the Living Theater,
heckling Frank O’Hara
or the Academy Awards audience
mocking poor Sally Fields
when she said “You
like me! You really do
like me! ” The brothers forgive me
as they’d forgive a flying nun
who alighted among them
& roosted, preening, while a brother
recited his hip-hop poem called
“Kill the White Muthafuckers.”
jefferson, i like this poem, and i'm searching myself for why so i can be more specific. this is what i've identified: i relate to it but have never read anything like this. as usual in your poems, the voice, the sound, is natural, unpretentious. also as usual, i appreciate your wit. related to the last two points, the references reveal that you are culturally aware (which makes it satisfying for me) as you put together in a logical flow pharaohs, martians, geiger counters, kerouac, sally fields, and hip hop. i think that covers it. quirky. again, i like it. glen kappy
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Racism is a disease that must be decimated. Nice poem