So I had this preoccupation with the news and disasters,
and I'm always trying to unpack these things a little bit
in my work.
So the next two poems I'm going to read
are connected to that unpacking, I guess.
The Antelope as Document.
One, if I am the dove and you are the wind,
together, we have some business.
Two, maybe I'm a little half-chick,
one of the lost ones on the way to Capital City,
thinking along the journey, I'm whole.
And the king will be so pleased to see me.
Three, erase the deities of ocean and sky.
Four, if you want to be touched, say, touch me.
If you want to be held, say, hold me.
Five, an antelope running wild on the plains of Africa
should not be considered a document.
Six, the girl's green t-shirt reads, Save Darfur.
Such a message.
How shall we classify, in the context of a day
without rain or in the neighborhood the girl walks,
in the borders of her country, strapped and declaring war?
Seven, object, document.
Star and sky, no.
Photo of star, yes.
Animal in wild, no.
Animal in zoo, yes.
Eight, coffin draped in flag, no.
Photo of coffin draped in flag, yes.
Nine, eventually, wisdom arise, but men spill their milk
in the meantime.
Ten, who will offer his tongue?