Thursday, October 10, 2013

Poetry of Witness.



Poetry of Witness
by james bezerra



My professor told me
I simply can’t be
a poet of witness
because I happen to be:
American and alive
and white
and male
and middle class
and straight
and therefore have nothing to witness.


And so it goes,
I suppose.
I can’t honestly disagree.


But me, I’m not guilty
of 500 years of racist/patriarchal hegemony.
I’m just trying to to pay my rent.
My Argentinian landlord doesn’t give a shit
about the imperialism of caucasian history.
She just wants her money.
And promptly.


I’ll admit I probably benefit
by being white and fit,
male and straight as an arrow
but I simply fail
to agree that I’ve nothing to witness.
If nothing else there’s my impending poverty
since - either way - I can’t pay my rent with poetry.

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