I tried to drown my sorrows
but the bastards learned how to swim
—Frida Kahlo
I remember the media-parroted propaganda/: crowds of Muslims
cheering the fall of New York’s Twin Towers.
Allahu Akbar!! /on JFK Blvd? The “thousands”
of Muslims/ happy according to Trump/ who soundbyte feigned
pissed enough to boldface lie. I can remember the proselytized chants
of the uninformed/ cheering (USA! USA! USA!) /in the aftermath
of the sanctioned murder of bin Laden. I can remember
the YouTube videos /of high noon /gun-
shot splayed thugs/demons/&criminals mourned like white school children.
The cellphones looky-lewd for all to see/ a now everyday Black
Lives Matter/ of fact/: the gasping fish gills /drowning out loud in
[di]visible Laws of racist profiles. The guv’ment serpent’s
tongue of official/ & spokesperson/ who define the gray areas
/as anomalies or aberrations/ the excuses of other than / of being
taken out of context/ presidential texted in the idiot-grams of
140 characters or less/: I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue
& shoot somebody & I wouldn’t lose voters. A bigoted system.
Perhaps the truth is They fear/ that is turning me to
a bridge jumper in precarious times. Think /erosion/: glass
turned to sand /to dust so fine /you realize too late/ it’s choking
you. I remember a clown posing as president /talking
like he really knew /what he was talking about/ &
the sycophants cheering.
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henry 7. reneau, jr. writes words of conflagration to awaken the world ablaze, an inferno of free verse illuminated by his affinity for disobedience, like a discharged bullet that commits a felony every day, is the spontaneous combustion that blazes from his heart, phoenix-fluxed red & gold, exploding through change is gonna come to implement the fire next time. He is the author of the poetry collection, freedomland blues (Transcendent Zero Press) and the e-chapbook, physiography of the fittest (Kind of a Hurricane Press), now available from their respective publishers. Additionally, he has self-published a chapbook entitled 13hirteen Levels of Resistance, and his collection, The Book Of Blue(s) : Tryin’ To Make A Dollar Outta’ Fifteen Cents, was a finalist for the 2018 Digging Press Chapbook Series. His work has also been nominated multiple times for the Pushcart Prize and the Best of the Net.
Photo by Nicole Y-C.
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