Three Poems
Tucson School
No more
reading about brown people—
kids get ideas and ideas
get kids into
trouble. We like Jesus. White,
he had good ideas
except for all that help
the poor crap. I mean,
we do help the poor. When
we can. Brown people
secretly wish to be white.
Look at The Mayflower—
no one named Raul
came sailing over.
Give them stories about brave
white people
building America or
they start asking things
that I can’t answer. Let’s keep
kids like sandwiches
in a Baggie, sealed,
air-tight, easily seen.
Recent Developments in Gay American History
1.
Rape your daughter. If necessary,
pay some guy to come in
and do it. She wants it. Sex
with a man will end all this
lesbian bullshit. She’ll thank you
later.
2.
Beat your kid. Only a strong beating
will tear him away
from evil. Beat him
so he almost dies. I’m
a pastor. I know
about these things. I’m joking,
right? Dad beat me
and I’m glad.
He’s in Heaven now. God
will guide your hand. If
there’s blood, so be it.
The crucifixion was bloody.
And necessary.
3.
It gets better.
Sometimes.
Not all the time.
You walk down the hall.
They circle you.
You’re used to the names
almost.
The hitting. The kicking.
The spitting.
It gets better.
How long can you last?
What to Call You
Lover seems so afternoon TV.
Spouse seems so formal.
Partner seems so business-like.
Attache seems so 70s.
Person seems so anonymous.
Husband seems so hetero model.
Wife seems so hetero model.
I’m thinking I won’t call you
by any name—language
maps haven’t been designed yet
so that we can fully say
who we are. However,
we are in the process
of designing them—
they will help us
get where we need to go.
—Ken Pobo, Media, PA
