Nature is trying to roll over you
Chew you up and reincarnate you
I walked out of my poetry reading
having declared whiteness is a mental illness
As I was being told which poems were their favorites
A woman passing by overheard them say
“mixed race”
She said to me,
“Cain?”
I said what from the bible?
She said no
“biracial Cain.”
There was a long pause and she could tell I didn’t know what she meant
She said,
“Cain was my step son.”
“He just killed himself in his cell the other day… because the police were harassing him about being black and white.”
I felt so desperate to help
I told her I’m trying to change things
I cannot bring back her step son
I put a ski mask on
and said come with me