Poem in 7 Parts by Clara B. Jones

I am not a silent poet

1. Negress

Maybe it’s easier to name a racist in post-structural space.

Baraka manifested metaphors rather than bodies in copula

And Michel mimicked narratives of power

In salons where stick figures watched from chandeliers.

That’s what happens to marginal systems and rugged landscapes

Where all matter begins or ends with a poor prognosis

Like Christmas lights beginning to flicker

or nylon stockings ripped by a cat’s claws.

Skin isn’t polychromatic just because we want our love to last

But your father reminded you what a negress is for

And you said, Don’t take it so seriously before telling me—

We can’t have a baby though Elliot is a good name for a boy

and I always wanted a daughter named Merida.

Prescribing psychoanalysis Freud said women are no substitute for men

when trauma and sex converge

And the Ego is sublimated by interior monologue

Otherwise I would stand in the…

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how to write poetry today by Richard Hedley Atkinson

I am not a silent poet

always
do
it
for
cheap
laughs
at
the
expense
of
someone
disabled
like
Trump
and
that
should
get
a
laugh
and
always
end
on
a
happy
note
and
have
something
in
the
poem
that
says
something
strongly
moral
like
an
old
episode
of
friends
or
even
the
70’s
detective
series
McCloud
which
also
had
lighter
moments
and
he
had
a
serious
look
which
every
poem
should
have
during
the
moral
stuff
for
a
better
world
and
healing
even
for
the
poor
and
disabled
like
what
Trump
is
and
remember
fellow
poets
always
say
inner
lurve
is
ok
but
only
if
you
can
afford
it
or
a
cheap
bottle
of
cider
that
causes
you
problems
as
in
getting
arrested 28
times
or
just
a
black
eye
you
can’t
remember
how
you
got
it
or
just
sad
urination
problems.

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Brexit Attitude by Marie Lightman

I am not a silent poet

Nearly deserted bus station, Newcastle
on a Sunday night. Homeless bloke asks
bling bloke for a tab. He without a moment
to think “Mate you need to sort yourself out,
get a job, clean yourself up, you should be
ashamed of yourself” then bling bloke walked
off, leaving the fellow crumpled in a heap, like
some empty crisp packet.

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.debate three. by Sonja Benskin Mesher

I am not a silent poet

so we chat and laugh, listen to the radio.

a british voice,  mainly black and white.

we swapped jokes, and wondered if they

laughed

at  hitler.

at one point .

give pots, pans to make air planes.

we still have our railings. do not

believe everything.

this also may not be funny.

(sniffs)

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. debate three .

sonja benskin mesher

so we chat and laugh, listen to the radio.

a british voice,  mainly black and white.

we swapped jokes, and wondered if they

laughed

at  hitler.

at one point .

give pots, pans to make air planes.

we still have our railings. do not

believe everything.

this also may not be funny.

(sniffs)

sbm.

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The Haunted Cult of Walking Away by Bobby Parker

I am not a silent poet

This is me holding a voodoo doll.

This is me waving the doll over the hob.

This is me being silly, doll down my pants,

shrugging like a nineties sitcom doofus.

This is also me, going a bit mad, in the garden.

Ha-ha… Look at the sky! Weird isn’t it?

That’s my dear old mum, bless her, screaming.

Without her my daughter wouldn’t have nice clothes.

There’s dad, half cut, staring at a black cloth.

We never came to blows and I’m proud of that.

They’re always asking what happened, oh

what happened, son, what happened?

The voodoo doll is not meant to represent

anyone in particular, although I’m sure

you’re sharp enough to notice it bears

a striking resemblance to the snake man

who rattles beside my wife and sells

her telly for dope; who sometimes tells

my daughter to wipe herself on a towel

because they can’t afford…

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.debate two. by Sonja Benskin Mesher

I am not a silent poet

watched the debate right through

on catch up.

meanwhile you phoned & messaged

me nicely.

placed on pause a while, while i answered.

i noticed that one said

nothing in particular, while the other

spoke words some may understand.

as do you.

there were adverts, so i sent you photographs.

no one mentioned  aleppo

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.debate two.

sonja benskin mesher

watched the debate right through

on catch up.

meanwhile you phoned & messaged

me nicely.

placed on pause a while, while i answered.

i noticed that one said

nothing in particular, while the other

spoke words some may understand.

as do you.

there were adverts, so i sent you photographs.

no one mentioned  aleppo

sbm.

View original post

.debate. by Sonja Benskin Mesher

I am not a silent poet

so much to talk about. the news is all

debate this morning.

yet.

those words will not help folk in aleppo.

you who watched live, was it even

mentioned?

aleppo blasted.  bloody murder.

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.debate.

sonja benskin mesher

so much to talk about. the news is all

debate this morning.

yet.

those words will not help folk in aleppo.

you who watched live, was it even

mentioned?

aleppo blasted.  bloody murder.

sbm.

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