Poem-a-Day, April 6: reverie & remember

Rose Colored City

When Jennifer & I
       near the Ross Island
              Bridge pass the two

young men in matching
       black combat boots
              & white tee-shirts

beneath suspenders
       that blaze an X on
              their backs,

I see them first as partners,
       taking a late evening walk,
              like us, locked arm

to arm, charmed by park
       lamps & floral pathways
              then well-up with pride,

glorying in the picture
       our generation makes,
              & I think what passes

between us, lust holier
       than war & lovelooks tinged
              with righteousness

could fertilize a new & supreme
       race, but then, White Power,
              Sister, & I snap out of

my reverie & remember
       the sound of History & blood,
              & look over my shoulder

& sneer my long, teasing
       black smile & say,
              Yeah right, White Power

to which they spill out
       of each other’s arms &
              stomp, cursing, heads

bald as trophies in gold
       streetlight, & we set off
              to crossing the avenue,

a soft jog that breaks
       to a sprint, far away to
              our separate lives.


Hi Friends,

Major Jackson‘s “Rose Colored City” is featured in American Poet Magazine, volume 35 (fall 2008).

Was this poem easier to understand once you knew the narrator’s race, gender and sexual orientation? How far into the poem did it take you to ascertain those perspective traits?

How important are an author’s headshot and bio on the back of a poetry collection or a novel for you as a reader? Is it possible to read a poem without making assumptions about both the writer’s and the narrator’s gender? Is it possible to pass a silhouette in a park late at night without making assumptions about a peron’s gender or race?

April is National Poetry Month, and I am celebrating by emailing out my own selection of one poem per day for the duration of the month. If you wish to be unsubscribed from this Poem-a-Day email list at any time, please reply to this email with a friendly unsubscribe request (preferably in heroic couplet form). You may also request to add a consenting friend to the list, or even nominate a poem.

To learn more about National Poetry Month, or to subscribe to a more official-like Poem-a-Day list, visit www.poets.org.

Enjoy.
Ellen

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