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