Stormy PoeticJustice

I live in a liberal town.

We have Farmers’ Markets on Saturdays,

and free concerts in the park on Wednesdays.

Pedestrians and cyclists live in harmony with hybrid vehicles,

and the zoo          is always          free.

In this mythical Utopia, everyone is encouraged

to speak their minds…

 

…like the time when          temporarily single

I bemoaned my dating pool and was told that

I should really consider          moving

to Atlanta          or Chicago          or Texas

because really there aren’t enough          “sistas” here

for me to have a real chance.

A glance          from me to her betrayed my confusion

so she explained her conclusion

that women are really looking for partners

that reflect          themselves       

and as a white woman          she knows

what white women          are looking for.

 

Ironically, my blues was originated

not by the absence of a particular          heritance,

but by the presence of          ignorance,

so I looked around for the cameras          and Ashton,

‘cause I’m thinking I’m being          Punk’d.

And then I remember that I live in a

liberal town…

 

…where Jill goes to a non-denominational church

so she loves          everyone

and wants me to know that it’s          nothing personal,

she just doesn’t think she can support

gay          marriage.

She has          moral objections.

And as she sits there          blue eyes          framed by blond curls

pleading for me to understand, 

my mind drifts back to her          wedding day

when she married          a Black man –

blissfully unaware that only forty-two years ago

that same assertion would have been used

to condemn          her          life plan.