Boys' Club

These are not my dreams. They're yours,
And these are not my misperceptions.
Tell yourselves that you've been wronged,
That all the others, unlike you, have gained,
Somehow, at your expense, as if a black
Man gets a break (when we all know the
Nigger jokes), as if a woman can succeed.
She can, of course, to some degree, if she
Can mince and flash her tits, but, should
She push or speak her mind, you'll start
The rumors: lesbian. The circle's closed,
And, though it's late, and, though the
Clothes you emperors have worn have
Proven rather thin, you've set yourselves
Behind a wall, within which you can
Serve yourselves, and specify the ways
In which these others, who remain without,
Can try to, wrongly, share what's yours.
You have your dream: you're something
Special. You have, also, still, sufficient
Strength to reassure yourselves that
All that you enjoy is earned, and all
Those others, hands extended, want
Is, surely, undeserved. They've
Proclaimed themselves your equals.
From behind the wall, you've
Answered, “You have misperceived.”



Poetry by Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 41 times
Written on 2014-04-18 at 11:53

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