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 Dec 2011 thomas gabriel
Waverly
Who Am I?

Well,
I must be
that ******,
the one
in the black hoodie
***** sweatpants
and an uncombed eye,
that's always wooly
scratchy,
bloodshot
with searching for
my stash spot,
that ******
in your peripherals
that you keep your eye on
because he's
not
in a polo
looking nice,
talking
"well-spoken"
and
not
a threat
to your beautiful
lily-white daughter.


Because I grew up
fixing myself
ramen noodles
and
lifting the welcome mat
after school,
I must also be
that ******
whose father wasn't
in the same house
until he was age 13,
and when I tell you that,
you weren't expecting it
because "you're not a racist."
but
you weren't surprised.


You see,
I must be
that ******,
a stand-in
for all other *******.
I must be that ******
who represents
all *******,
not because you are racist,
but because I'm the only
******
you've met
who doesn't talk like
dis, y'know whatmsayin,
and i talk like
this, do you know what I'm saying?
I must be that ******.

In order for you
to feel okay
being around me
I must be that ******
who goes to college
does the right
thing
the white thing
and gets a job
a nice little house,
a nice black wife
with a nice
new england
clear
dialect,
(what I was
trying to get at
earlier
is that ****** dialects,
by their mere intonation,
denote stupidity,
right?)
and doesn't say a word
when his white friends
make ****** jokes
or talk in a ****** dialect
mocking some Aunt Jemima
they heard at Walmart.

But,
I also must be that ******
who doesn't step out of line
and say
"WHY IS IT
THAT IN EVERY SINGLE
ENGLISH CLASS
WE READ
ONLY
TWO
BLACK AUTHORS
A SEMESTER,
AND THAT'S
ENOUGH,
JUST ENOUGH
TO KEEP THE
****** PARENTS
HAPPY."

And If I happen to be a ******,
I,
by all means,
must not be that ******
who had a white girlfriend,
and
this girlfriend
after dating
a ******,
tried to date a white guy
she liked,
and when she told him
that she had dated,
loved,
and yes,
******
a ******,
he had said back:
"I can't believe
you ****** a ******."

Then again,
I must be that ******
with the big swinging ****
able to destroy
a white girl's ******
with its pulverizing
power.

And,
please,
If I am going to be a ******
don't be the one
who writes a poem
about
having to be
that ******,
because those
kinds of *******
are being
over-sensitive,
those dashiki-wearing-*******
who think
"Da white man dis."
and "Da white man dat."

Because
I am not one of those *******
descended from the first people on earth,
your brother,

not in the ****** way,

but the familial,
species way.

Why am I even writing
this, ****** isn't a main operative
word anymore.

Search and find "******"
and
replace with
"Black Guy." That way it becomes
a joke.
With eager hope, lines are flung from stone quays,
In cerulean depths, lobsters drink crystal *****,
Banners of Mars ripple across lengthening days,
March festivals surrounds the sky with ambrosia.

Tiny dinghies dot the shores of crystal shine,
Jewel glints on serene ripples of the coast,
Velvet gloves of mirth while we wine and dine,
April races into hedonistic delights with a toast.

Gentle showers of rain caress our joyous minds,
Feeling the sweet uplifting scents assail us,
Choirs of birds paint rainbows for the colorblind,
May serenity soothes the birth of young Horus.

Beauteous blooms decorate the healthy fields,
Amidst the hush, come avalanche of avian flocks,
Summer-tide tickles the sickle it wishes to wield,
June love bind resonating halves in holy wedlock.

Spectral symphonies echo with rise of nations,
Waves of sultry heat from pulsating solar veins,
Let the tellurian realm bask in sleepy volition,
July warmth masterfully holds onto summer reins.

The waving forest whisper missives of lasting peace,
Stroll through sylvan woods to reveal new dreams,
The graceful rush of lucent creeks has not ceased,
August reverie rests on the soil of our daydreams.

Falling colors heralds summer's wave of adieu,
Scarlet pillows above billows of restless seas,
The harvest of ripened grains among rich milieu,
September bounty overflows the humble eaves.

Waning sunset unleash dying orange hues,
Above deep carpets of brittle gilded leaves,
Somber silence greets the coming of bad news,
October winds whistle through the lonely caves.

A maple flag shivers in the frigid air,
Upon a parapet far on the distant hill,
Boreal winds herald flares of despair,
November ice upon empty lifeless mills. 

From gloomy blooms above fell sparkling dust,
Asthmatic gales howl by gates of frozen pearls,
'Tween the valley crevice, stellar shine avast!
December frost rimes up the stormy whirls.

Chains of stiff ******* will soon be asunder,
Bolts of aurelian steel pierce the somber veil,
Of numb terraqueous veins arise new wonders,
January snow cradles early blossoms well.

The day's eye blinks awake across the skyline,
Phantom calls from across the sea stuck in time,
Steady upward climb the green grapevine,
February thaw shall meet the thirsty maritime.
Wrote half of it before midterms, and the other half after midterms. March is traditionally the first month of the year. It is the meteorological beginning of spring. A chronicle of a single orbit on the third planet of our solar system.
Fare thee well by islets of time,
Beauteous blooms of fragrance; of thyme.
Gliding symphonies beckons thine eye,
Gentle minds float toward sky high.

O cues sung by the siren, allure!
Once, fusion of reason borne pillar.
Twice ponder, may our paths entwine,
Thrice to act, unlike the tranquil Seine.

Like angelic enigmas par Euler,
Soar upon the painted auric frontier.
Air fresh: an ebullient morning dew,
Wisdom: moisture for the thirsty few.

By spring fountain, if thou art inclined,
Bright sparrow among the bovine herd.
Lo, argent quarry of dust- liquid guile,
Behold, product beyond thunder- gale.

Scents of lavender assail thy sleep,
Euphoric dreams, we welcome with glee!
Sleepy horizons, a glorious dawn,
Morning filled with a trillion suns.

Some time, some day: travel the stars,
Mortal shackles unchain my awful maw.
Pupil of Aristotle, Darwin, and Vinci,
There lies truth; a transient hierarchy...
 Dec 2011 thomas gabriel
Ben
the*                                
parlor   air smells of  
   antiseptic and alcohol    
               while the white gauze chair      
         *sings a        sirens song
        
of    
pleasure      and pain    
                     painting reflections of myself on  
a living canvas greens
blues purples yellows
mingle freely                
with the red                  
     ink drawn                          
from my                        
veins from                    
another br                     
ushstroke                      
puls                            ­  
ing                                
at                                    
10                        ­          
0                                    
0                                    
r                                      
p                       ­             
m                                      
**V.....................­..................
 Dec 2011 thomas gabriel
Waverly
I wish
I could have been alive
that hot summer day
when that yellow dress
clung to her
by surface tension.

My mother said

they sweated alive.

Sweated
arm to arm;
elbow to elbow;
limb to wet limb;
all crowded into
Mount Morris Park
waiting to see her.

To smell her.

the tacqueria's
and fish fry's
were going
and the air was filled
with grey smoke
to make eyes sting
and noses clench.

Babies
that looked like black marbles
bobbed
to the surface of the crowd
escaping their mother's arms;
perched on shoulders
screaming
into ears
not listening for new life.

"it seemed so far off."

people fainted.
One woman
fell down beside her.

A hole opened up
to let the paramedics through.

A long ****,
where her fingers,
hanging limp from the stretcher,
slid across thighs
in the closing crevice
in her wake.

"She was old anyways."

The hole closed.

The new world
formed
in her place.

Onstage,
a yellow dress
warped
in the sun.

From the back
my mother
heard a voice
like thunder,
close thunder,
thunder
like the roar
of the universe.

Nothing else was present that day. Nothing.

Just the yellow sun
and it's yellow birth of black
spinning,
sweating skin,
and a lilting thunder
like the roar of a universe
coming from
the black earth
at the neck
of that yellow, clinging dress.

"Hello."
the thunder said.
Rough draft.  

Source material: Video at the bottom of the page. Start at 5:26.
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