Huckabee
Romney
Clinton
McCain
Obama
Hillary
Mitt
and Mike
The names ring nursery like a rhyme
children's games
singing/rain/talking the same old/same old
are the ideas any different
the bodies/newer/shinier than Bush
everybody looks better than that neanderthal
next to him
I would look good for President
now that Hillary has put a little titty in the politics
I could run
Barack painted me skin and in
not too dark though
we still got troubles
wayyyy down south
the parts of me
Black and female wrestle inside
my body is split
right down the middle
my dyke self supports the world being ruled by a woman
the night/shades of me
wants little black boys to stop aping
hip hop
idols/with nothing to worship but records calling me
bitch
this bitch don't take that from nobody
and certainly not a man
looking to make his dick bigger
or harder
or whatever he thinking
if the lights are low enough
and the woman is fine
she can call me anything/anytime
but back to these elections
these fast talkers promising my black woman self
the world
they will give me
healthcare/mandated/housing/affordable
wonder what they will do
with their Black/female back pressed cruel
against some republican/special interest wall
wonder how tall they would stand then
winner takes all
delegates divvied up from light blue to dark blue
my father is Chinese
living in Jamaica
he proudly told me
he is republican
and I don't know what to do with that knowledge
not that it matters
he will never vote in America
the gulf will feed our arguments
give us something to speak of
when we speak
Obama will come up
he will knock at Hillary
and I will do my best
to act like it ain't nothing but normal
gay and Black
woman and immigrant
ain't nutten normal
about me and my split parts
torn as I am
never have I been this significant
in the United States
Black women walk invisible in supermarket aisles
nothing for my hair in the pharmacy
on your shelf
there is nothing for my mother's skin
and though I am glad you cannot sell me much
I resent
your ignorance
your disappearing of my parts
your constant silencing of me
unless you need me
for some voting block where you can again
divide the women
from the Blacks
the Latinos
from the rest of us
as long as we not rich and white
we can be separated from the pack of what is important
split
tear
sever
break
break my heart with this choice of which part of me
may reflect me from that place of power
which one
chose one
and my first choice was the white blond-dropout
talking all about poverty
but poor people
have never been the subject of any public conversation
unless they steal something
none that I listen to lately
in these times we need
direction
and maybe I should go to a Barack rally
hear him speak without a screen between us
how do you choose
from folks you ain't never seen
either way
parts of me may find themselves
Black
or woman
seated in the white house
history is in the making
people
I say
history is making itself known
and I am just as prone to write it down
tickled
that I am able to watch
and talk politics with my prodigal maybe father
and pontificate
and take a crap on the ideas that seem like shit
for now I am just listening
watching
late night TV in Chicago
and I am just here
watching the ancient dance of men and power
struggling to survive a woman
and a debonair man with my skin
In Chicago/in New York
I am listening America
Let me know when you've finally let me in
http://thedailyvoice.com/mt41/mt-tb.cgi/151
and if poetry isn't your thing...
elizabeth hines, at alternet.
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