My heart
naïve, eager,
excited
My heart
dancing, singing,
soaring
My heart
irresistibly tempted
by her beauty,
her intellect,
her charm
My heart,
despite the warnings,
carelessly leaping
My heart,
in its haste,
forgetting
the parachute
My heart
crashing
My heart
shattered
on the jagged rocks
I pretended would
not this time
be waiting
My heart
searching for
duct tape
to piece itself
together again
My heart
longing for something
to dim the pain
Summer 2020
The following piece is what I am calling a “gathered poem.” All words are direct quotes by slave owner and anti-abolitionist, Francis Scott Key. I’m putting these words together to contrast the blind patriotism often eagerly bestowed to the national anthem with the blatant racism of its writer to highlight the need to relegate this song to the scrap barrel of history.
The words in red are from his 1814 poem, “Defence of Fort M’Henry,” which was put to music to become “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It would not become the national anthem until 1916 by congressional resolution, signed by the 31stpresident. The words in blue are from the often ignored third stanza of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The words in white are from Key’s final address to the jury, as he prosecuted a man for possession of anti-slavery publications.
O! say can you see
Are you willing, gentlemen,
by the dawn’s early light,
to abandon your country,
What so proudly we hailed
to permit it to be taken from you,
at the twilight’s last gleaming
and occupied by the abolitionist,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars
according to whose taste it is
through the perilous fight,
to associate and amalgamate with the negro?
O’er the ramparts we watch’d
Or, gentlemen, on the other hand,
were so gallantly streaming?
are there laws in this community
And the Rockets’ red glare
to defend you from the immediate abolitionist,
The Bombs bursting in air,
who would open upon you the floodgates
Gave proof through the night
of such extensive wickedness and mischief?
that our Flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled Banner yet wave,
No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
O’re the Land of the free, and the home of the brave?
from the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave
18 Sep 2020
Key's address to the jury can be found in this article:
This article from The Intercept does a nice job of, among other things, looking into Key's intended meaning in his usage of "hireling and slave":
More Proof the U.S. National Anthem Has Always Been Tainted with Racism
The taste of candy,
sweet to the lips
Sugary satisfaction,
confectionery ecstasy
Candy Land should be
Candy Heaven for
all who choose to indulge
But a straight man
in a candy store
is, too often, a bull
in a china shop
Oblivious to his surroundings,
careless in his destruction
Double dipping
double standards,
Grabbing handfuls
of hypocrisy
Mocking her sweet tooth
with names meant to degrade
for the same sugary desire
he prides himself on
Candy slut if she consents,
candy prude if she denies
Set up for ridicule
regardless of her choice
as he attempts
to shame her
for wanting what
he himself desires
Not the most intelligent
of candy connoisseurs,
this bull of a man,
as candy is consensual
and if she declines dessert,
he’ll have only the
distant memory of the taste
and his own sticky hands
The flames
of global warming
light your horizon,
its storms blow
ever more forcefully
against your windows,
and the water
continues to inch
towards your doorstep
When you said
you’d rather die
than give up
meat / eggs / dairy,
I thought it was
just hyperbole
at first
I thought science
would convince you
at first
I thought you’d realize,
as study after study
revealed “Livestock’s
Long Shadow,”
that it wasn’t just deadly
for the livestock
I thought when
climate change
knocked persistently
at your door
like an unrelenting
and unwelcome
Jehovah’s Witness,
that you’d finally
be able to see
the smoking gun,
the smoking grill
But your house is on fire,
your forest is on fire,
your world is on fire
And still you stand
over your barbeque,
lamenting the
sadness of the flames,
while you strike
your next match
14 Sep 2020
"Livestock's Long Shadow" references this report
"The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global."
My heart’s arsonist arrives,
gasoline on her lips
The sparks ignite before
I can taste her first kiss
Flames flicker then flare,
my heart engulfed
in the stinging heat
But it is the sweetest fire
and all I want to do is burn
After weeks of rehearsal,
the paid crowd awaits
The thrill of opening night,
less than thrilling this time
I can’t break a leg
if I don’t take the stage
But my heart is not here,
it is trapped in a hospital
with a boy who no longer
wants to live
Will I miss my entrance?
Will I miss his exit?
The curtain rises,
the show must go on
Thank God,
or Daphne du Maurier,
the play is set
in the apocalypse
So I can pretend
the whole world
is collapsing,
instead of just
my own
21 July 2020
(reflecting on past events)
