"THAT'S ONE SLIPPERY ROCK" a poem by (me!) sandra, tvgp
when i heard my doctor
Maya Angelou
recite her poem at the inauguration of president bill clinton in 1993
i listened
with the methodical heart beat and limited attention span of a chronically ill patient
we've heard it
ALL
starts to sound the same,
doesn't it
not hard to read my indifferent pulse on this blanduary morning -doctor
Maya Angelou
i surrender
one more time. what did you just say? can you
Write that down.
so i can look (that) up
i'll never remember
-on my own,
what does that even mean, doctor
Maya Angelou? you are talking
over my head -no less to midas than the
What?! is she tryin' to say exactly? "Good Morning?"
very simply?
with hope -you want me look in my "sister's" eyes?! doctor
Maya Angelou
in my "brother's" face
that's awfully optimistic Mz. doctor..
'do not be wedded forever to fear,' you say
'yoked eternally to
Bruitishness is all i've ever known doctor
Maya Angelou. Bruitishness is all i've ever known.
from the middle eastern "brother" who kidnapped me from my own bedroom
to the mexican "sisters" that bullied me until
i changed schools. i had to change schools
doctor
Maya Angelou
how can i say "good morning" to anyone?! when a black man raped me at gunpoint
and another held a gun to my head in a bank robbery -when a giant white man abused, controlled, and dominated the little white child, me
speakin' of oppression.. and slavery.. did you think you had a monopoly on this?
all i've ever known is bruitishness - pirates desperate for gain
starving
pillaging my dreams, bombing my family with nightmares. that's all i've ever known
cynicism and blood and fear
and nothing.
seems to matter -evil lurks everywhere and -ask me who -ask me who
because evil lurks inside the asian, the hispanic, the african and jew
indian, irish
catholic, muslim, atheist too
say 'good morning' -i will not!
to the turk, the swede, the german or scot
that's one slippery rock doctor
Maya Angelou.
that's one toxic river; and one question for the tree...
when were we all one?
once upon a time... we're we really all one
doctor
Maya Angelou...
your words, your voice, your presence
dares me -you dare me? you dare me -to climb back on that slippery rock and find my balance
to clean the river with my own two, fully functioning, hard workin' hands
dare me: to swim against my own current
circumstances
toward that forward leaning horizon and mythical unmoved tree
is that where i find courage doctor
Maya Angelou?
or do i need it to get there?
where all my dreams that were murdered, and hopes that committed suicide
are resurrected
over
years it took me
to heed your advice doctor
Maya Angelou
"too good to be true"
common for chronically ill patients to
say
simply
very simply
"Good Morning."
a piercing need? THAT is your prescription for our country? -are you serious
ly. -it IS a piercing need; how did you know?
"good morning."
i whispered it to a perfect stranger today doctor
Maya Angelou
and he said 'good morning' back. check my pulse!
"Good Morning."
i said it to a mexican today doctor -she said 'Good Morning' back!
Oh! doctor
Maya Angelou! "GOOD MORNING!"
i said it to a black man, a gay man, a priest!
i said it simply -very simply. it's like a "Good Morning!" feast
to a lesbian, a blind child, a store owner; his labor
i even said 'good morning' to my republican neighbor!
check my pulse! it's one fine morning
doctor
Maya Angelou...
-something tragic happened.
over
the years its taken me to heed your advice
something tragic has happened and grown worse every year
that's one slippery rock doctor
Maya Angelou
i haven't said "good morning"
for months
i've been silent. unnoticed, unheard
not one simple, very simple, not one simple word
"GOOD MORNING!" i say, but not one of them hears
they've all got those friggin' phones in their ears!
i look out and up, but my sisters
and brothers look down
what good, doctor
Maya Angelou
posted by SHE @ 1:53 PM
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